Where is God?

Today the pathology reports came back that Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor at The Village Church, has cancer and that it will be a tough road ahead because the doctors couldn't removed it all with the first surgery. Matt is 35 and one of the most influential pastors for the next generation. Where is God? One of my high school friends is still dealing with the fact that on Good Friday her husband fell seven stories and is still in the hospital with sever trauma. Where is God? All over the world families are being slaughtered in the streets, children are being pulled into wars, little girls are sold as prostitutes. Where is God? The answer that we find isn't always the one we want but the answer is He is right here. God is right here for us in all the pain and all the things that are so wrong in this world. God is right here when it isn't fair. Do I pretend to know why God allows these things to happen? No, but I do know based on His Word that He is here and that He is in control. God's ways are beyond our ways and His knowledge is far beyond our knowledge so all I can do in times like these and in a world like this is hold on to the promise that God is here and still in control.

Things I Learned at Disney World

A couple weeks ago Amanda & I spent a week at Disney World in Orlando. Since we don't have kids and we went in October the lines were shorter and we had more freedom to move around and move quickly from one thing so another without lots of brakes. I haven't been to Disney since I was really young so this was my first time to go and really be able to take it all in and remember things. We had such a fun time and I made a few observations about Disney that I think translate into church ministry. Now before anyone gets all riled up about me drawing any comparisons between the two let me be up front in saying the church shouldn't be an amusement park but I do think we can learn a lot from how they do things. Here are just a few observations I made that I hope to take with me when I, Lord willing, one day start a church.

1) the people there are so friendly and helpful. The first day there it was my birthday and so they gave me a button that told everyone I was celebrating my birthday at Disney. I got to tell you that we didn't pass one single employee that day that didn't say "Happy Birthday Chris". I know this may sound silly but someone you don't know smiling and welcoming you makes you feel good. What if the church was made up of people who really believed that showing an interest in a new face was important?

2) everything they do is well done. As we walked around and went on some of the kid rides I am blown away at how well and how much pride they obviously take in things being done well. At Disney you don't see trash on the ground, you don't see places that need paint work, you see the detail they put into creating the scenes of movies and stories. Everything they do is done well and people appreciate that. What if the church took as much pride as Disney in doing things well and making their facilities look clean and nice?

3) it is a fun place where people are happy. I remember commenting to Amanda one day that I haven't heard a single curse word the whole time we have been here and I can't even remember someone being visibly upset about something (other then little kids crying over something). Now I know that we as the church are called to talk about tough things and sometimes make you uncomfortable about your sin but what if the church was a place people really looked forward to going to and being a part of?

4) they make the kids experience memorable. It really was fun to see the faces of kids as Disney and know this was such a treat for them. It is also fun to watch parents and grandparents as the find pleasure in their kids loving their experience. What would the church give to have a Children's ministry that is so exciting and fun that they want to be there? How excited would the parents be if their kids wanted to be in church because it is fun and they are learning about Jesus?

5) it is a well run company. If you visit Disney you can't help but notice how well run it is from the moment you walk in. None of the other things could happen if it wasn't run well. The fact that the give you a free pass on your birthday or that prices aren't astronomical (I know they are high but not as bad as I thought they'd be or could be) is because they have a good plan and run a smart business. What is the church had a really good strategy for where they want to go in the future and how the finances play a part in that? What is churches didn't over reach trying to please everyone but instead stuck closely to their vision and goals?

Well these were a few of the things I picked up on at Disney but if you have some of your own I'd love to hear about them. Disney is truly a magical place and my hope is that we as the church can learn a few things so that Jesus is loved and is viewed as great as Walt Disney in peoples eyes.

Church Planting Part 5

Jeff Foxworthy became famous with his "You might be a redneck if" jokes a decade ago. As you read through these different posts I done on church planting you might be asking yourself if you could be involved in something like that. You might wonder if you are the right type of person to be part of a core team of people that help start a church. Well in honor of Jeff Foxworthy I want to give you some "You might be right for a church plant core team if..."

1. if you believe God has still greater things in store for your city

2. if you believe that even though your a vital part of a church it isn't about you but about God and others

3. if you want to be excited about being a part of something and telling people about it

4. if you like hard work

5. if you want to pray harder and give more of yourself then you ever thought possible

6. if you want to give financially to something that will reap eternal benefits

7. if you stick with things through the good, bad, and ugly because you believe God has called you to be a part of it

8. if you're willing to do what is needed to make it happen

9. if you want to build relationships with people like you never thought possible

10. if you believe that the lead pastor is someone you want to follow because he is doing the best he can to be obedient to God

11. if you like getting there early and staying late because you're helping set-up and teardown

12. if you love meeting new people

13. if you love seeing God change hearts

14. if you believe that the sacrifice in the short-term doesn't even compare to the possibility of the future for both you and your kids

15. if you believe God has chosen for His primary way of reaching un-churched people to be through great churches

Church Planting Part 4

Whenever someone is going to start a new church a lot of research goes into the process. Some of the things that are commonly studied are: size of area, median income for area, educational breakdown of people in area, past growth pattern for the area, ethnicity of area, business growth of area, new home construction, how many similar churches to what you're doing, ect. A lot goes into studying an area because you want to make sure that this is the right area for you personally because you're committing a lot to the project. One of the most recent things to come out is research on church planting accross the board in America. This new information is so helpful because it draws correllations between things that happen in a church plant and its likelihood of thriving.

Recently Dr. Ed Stetzer (Lifeway Research) and Dr. Warren Bird (Leadership Network) co-authored a paper on the state of church planting in North America. I have read this paper and found it to be incredibly helpful in understanding what are some of the key components to church plants that not only survive but thrive. What I'd like to share with you is some highlights from this paper (if you'd like the whole paper please let me know and I'll email it to you) so that you can better understand what typically is needed for a church plant to thrive.

Background: This article summarizes salient findings from existing literature(multiple church planting studies, 54 doctoral dissertations, 41 journal articles, and over 100 church planting books and manuals), giving particular attention to a 2007 study by Leadership Network, which itself involved fresh research among more than 200 church-planting churches, over 100 leaders from 40 denominations, 45 church planting networks, 84 organic church leaders, 12 nationally known experts, and 81 colleges and seminaries.

Key Points:

*research indicates that a passive approach to ministry is prone to failure; however, church planters with an aggressive strategy for penetrating the community and gathering those who would be leaders for the kingdom more frequently results in successful church-plants

*proper site location for both the city and facility is necessary for success

*Spousal support is a must

*The importance of casting vision cannot be overemphasized

*Material resources are less important than one might believe

*Coaching plays a significant role in the life of the planter

*Have a plan for both developing leaders and involving them as soon as possible

*Church planters need to be sure of their calling

*research revealed that around 68 percent of church plants still exist four years after having been started

*When there is a proactive stewardship development plan within the church plant, survivability is increased by 178 percent

*The expectation is that the mean number of baptisms or conversions would have a strong correlation to the evangelistic effectiveness of new churches. The mean number of baptisms or conversions of the participating groups was 10 baptisms the first year, 11 the second year, 13 the third year; and 14 the fourth year

*The typical church plant does not pass 100 in attendance after 4 years

*In successful (over 200 people within 3 yrs) church-plants: 88% had church planting teams; 63.3% had a core group of 26 to 75 people; 75% used a contemporary style of worship; 80% put ten percent or more of their budgets toward outreach and evangelism; 16.8% had a higher rate of full-time pastors than struggling church-plants; 63% of fastgrowing plants, compared to 23% of those that were struggling, raised additional funding

*78.3 percent of fast-growing church planters were full-time rather than bivocational

*Only 8.8 percent of fast-growing church planters were given salary support past three years. On the other hand, 44.3 percent of struggling church planters were supported past three years

*75 percent of fast-growing church planters were given additional financial support from a sponsoring agency

*While receiving additional funding, a majority of fast-growing church plants received from $1,000 to $25,000 extra over a one to two-year period

*63.3 percent of fast-growing church planters raised additional funding for the church plant

*Planters leading fast-growing church plants were given more freedom to cast their own vision and choose their own target audience, and they had more freedom in the spending of finances

*88.3 percent of church planters involved in fast-growing church plants were a part of a church planting team

*Fast-growing church plants had multiple paid staff. Two paid staff members was a majority among these church plants

*A majority of fast-growing church plants utilized two or more volunteer staff as part of the church planting team prior to public launch

*Fast-growing church plants had a larger number of individuals involved in the core group prior to launch. While struggling church plants had twenty five or less in a core group, fast-growing church plants had between twenty-six and fifty.

*Fast-growing church plants utilized more seed families than struggling church plants

*Fast-growing church plants used both preview services and small groups to build the initial core group

*Fast-growing church plants that used preview services used three or more of these services prior to public launch. A large contingent of these churches used over five

*75 percent of fast-growing churches had over 101 attendees at their first service. By contrast, 80.4 of struggling church plants had 100 or less.

*Fast-growing church plants had children and teen ministries in place at time of ministries and offered at least three ministry opportunities to first-time attendees

*56.7 percent of fast-growing church plants taught financial stewardship during the first six months from public launch. By contrast only 38.5 percent of struggling church plants taught financial stewardship

*80 percent of fast-growing church plants gave 10 percent or more of their monthly budget toward outreach and evangelism

Church Planting Part 3

Every church and especially every church plant has to make the decision of what they will do in the area of ministries. In churches all over the country you will be able to find ministries that touch on just about everything under the sun and most of them are great ideas that touch many peoples live but the question that has to arise for me is "how many things can we do with excellence?" If you go to one church you'll find they have tons of ministries (ie. VBS, Sunday School, Men's, Women's, Small Groups, private schools, AWANA, sports, MOPS, ect.) and then if you go down the street you'll find a church that only does a few things.

I've always been in churches that do a lot of things, and once again I believe that there is nothing wrong with that philosophy of ministry, but for me as I've studied different churches and different philosophy of ministries and I've come to the belief that the more things a church does the more it tends to not do them as well simply because you are stretching your human and material resources so thin. It isn't a matter of the heart being in the wrong place as much as it is just so much energy spent going in so many different directions. For me I really have gravitated to a more simply church approach where we may not have every ministry under the sun but we really try to be excellent in the few we do and really try to get people involved in those few areas. What I'd like to do here is talk about what those few areas of ministry are that I believe are important for a church plant.

**Main Adult Worship Experience-- You'll notice I didn't say Sunday morning service because in churches today the main worship service could not only be Sunday morning but could be Saturday night, Sunday night, or even some other day of the week. Historically church has been held on Sunday to celebrate the day that Jesus rose from the dead conquering sin and death but I'm not sure that it is mandated that you must worship on Sunday morning even though I think it is optimal.

I believe the main adult worship experience should be geared towards two groups: 1)believer's- we should never lose hold of the fact that worship is only something Christians can do because you can only worship God when the Holy Spirit has changed your heart. The main worship experience is a time for believer's to come together and celebrate what Jesus has done through song, prayer, tithing, baptisms, communion and the preaching of the Bible. 2)the unbeliever-- this main worship experience is an opportunity for someone who is not a Christian to come and experience what Christianity is all about, it is an opportunity for them to experience the love of God's people, hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ, and see that the church isn't a scary place. The main worship experience shouldn't be, in my opinion, geared towards the unbeliever but we should make every effort, as long as not contrary to Scripture, to make them feel comfortable.

What type of "worship style" a church uses has been a hot button topic for years but I hope that someday it will no longer be. I believe there is a lot of freedom in Scripture about what "style" of worship you can use as long as the focus is placed on God and not ourselves. I believe that you can hold tight to the truths of Scripture and still be keenly aware and appreciate the changes in culture. Because of this belief I have no problem with the use of video, a full array of instruments, the use of drama and other forms of the arts, the idea of preaching both topical sermons and covering an entire book of the Bible. I believe that it is beneficial to use contemporary christian songs, secular songs, and classic hymns of the faith but I would lean towards the music being more "contemporary" then "traditional" in style because our vision is to "be a church where un-churched people fall in love with Jesus" and studies (next blog) have shown that church plants that use contemporary music reach un-churched people easier and grow much better then those that don't. One of the things that I really want to have is an appreciation for different "worship styles" and a flexibility to do different things because I believe that if you become too comfortable in the way you do things we as humans have a tendency to think it is the only right way.

**Children's Ministry (Nursery through 6th grade)-- It is imperative for any church and especially a church plant to take seriously the need to keep children safe and also teach them the truths of Scripture from an early age. Studies have shown that one of the most important things in a family deciding on a church is the safety/cleanliness of the children's facilities and we will do everything we can to make sure that when a family drops their kids off they know they are in good hands. Another thing I really want to see happen in a children's ministry is that it is such an exciting place for the kids that they can't wait for the next time they get to go. Think about this...how important to a parent would it be if their kids got them up from bed in the morning so excited to go to church? Wow! What I'd like to see in a children's ministry is a place where they can come together and sing fun songs, learn a Bible lesson, and then break up into small groups based on age to do projects about that Bible lesson so that it is reinforced. I would love from the time kids leave the children's ministry for them to have a great understanding of who God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are and for them to fall in love.

**Student Ministries (7th through 12th grade)-- Student ministries are a fun but challenging time because it is during this phase of life that so much changes in hormones, attitudes, and beliefs. Much like the Children's ministry my hope is that we provide an environment that is so exciting to be involved in that they want to go and be involved. My vision is that the Student ministries would work very similar to the Children's ministries in that they would gather in a big group for songs, skits, and a Bible lesson and then break up into specific age small groups to discuss more fully the lesson. My hope is that during the summer we'd also be able to add in Missions Trip and other fun activities.

**Service Teams-- One of the big areas that I'm excited about is our Service Teams because I believe that if you want to get connected in a church one of the best ways is to serve. I believe that when you work with people towards a common goal you really begin to bond and form a friendship that can last for a long time. One of the main reasons why we won't be have any type of Adult Sunday School ministry is because I want to free up people to be able to serve. Whether is be parking lot greeters, door greeters, helping with children's or student ministries, set up and tear down, sound, lights, offering helpers, or some other thing that comes up we need volunteers to jump in and serve. One of the things that I want people to know when they come is that we want you to use your gifts and serve on one of our Service Teams, not only so we can have an excellent church experience but so you can meet new friends.

**Outreach-- Part of the mandate that Jesus gave His disciples is to go out and share the Gospel with your local community and the farthest parts of the world. My hope is that if we're not known for anything else that we'll be known as a church that shares the love of Jesus with the world. My goal would be to build bridges with other local churches, para-church ministries, non-Christian organizations, and also global organizations. I want for our love to be so well known in our community that if our church were to disappear one day the impact would be felt by both Christians and non-Christians, I want people to be able to say that even though they may not agree with our message they appreciate our work in the community. I want for us to not only send short-term mission teams out into the field but also launch out full-time missionaries. These full-time missionaries will reach not only people groups that have heard the Gospel before but that brave the unknown for Jesus into un-reached people groups. Part of being in love with someone is telling people about that love, part of being in love with someone is showing them how much you love them and that is what we want to do with our love for Jesus.

**Small Groups-- I believe that "church" is really about community. I believe that small groups of 6-12 people meeting in homes, businesses, and restaurants are a vital part of what we should be about. I believe that beginning with our kids and working our way all the way up to adults we should desire to be in a group where we can grow in our relationship with God and with each other. I see these groups meeting on a regular basis because we need a place where we can pray together, fellowship together, talk about God's Word together, and support each other through life's ups and downs. Small Group ministry is one of my passions because I've seen what the Holy Spirit can do in that type of environment.

My hope is that we would create a small groups ministry where people can come and get plugged in, where they can meet new people to do life with. One of the challenges of small groups is that if you're a growing church, which we want to constantly be, you have to constantly be getting new people who are willing to step up and lead groups so that new people have a place to go. I want to have a culture that values both the need to develop deep, lasting relationships and the need to understand self sacrifice for the betterment of getting new people plugged in. My hope is that our groups will be based on life stage (single, married, and empty nest) so that you can group up with people most like you. We'll have times where the groups will talk further about the sermon and times when they'll talk about other topics.

As you can see my goal isn't to do a lot and that is intentional. I believe that if we're going to ask you to be a good spouse, a good parent, a good employee, a good neighbor, and share your faith with friends, family, and strangers that that takes a lot of time and effort. I don't want to pile on top of you more and more stuff. What we'll ask is that on top of that list of things you are hopefully already committed to doing that you do two events for us specifically: 1)join or lead a small group and 2)be involved Sunday morning (or Saturday night or Sunday night...whenever the large get together time is)in a Service Team. My hope is that if you have come from the type of background that I have, where every night there is something to do, you'll find this as great news because our goal isn't to burn you out but to have things that are so much fun that you'll love being a part of them and you'll want to see us reach the vision of "being a church where un-churched people fall in love with Jesus".

Church Planting Part 2

"We want to be a church where un-churched people fall in love with Jesus"

I've learned that having a good vision statement is important for any organization because it gives people a snapshot of what your organization is all about. When Apple started their vision statement was "to make a computer anyone can use" and that is what they've tried to do ever since. A vision statement should help your organization stay on track to what is was originally created for and when things start to get crazy and expand it brings you back to the fundamental purpose for its being.

There are a few things I've learned about what a vision statement should be and should not be that I'd like to share. The first thing is that you want your vision statement to be big and something that might always seem beyond reach because it is striving for the ultimate. Secondly, your vision statement should be easily remembered so that it is transferable to as many people as possible, the longer the statement the less amount of people that will remember it and make it part of their thinking. Thirdly, the vision statement should not answer all your questions and might even bring up more questions.

Let me try to breakdown the vision statement I've written and explain to you why I worded it like I did because if you really are paying attention it could seem contradictory.

"We"- even though I wrote the vision statement it is a statement that you want all of the people of your organization to embrace as their own. Any organization is about more than one person and even more than its founder.

"want to be"- this vision statement is an aspiration that will hopefully happen in the future but will more than likely always continue to be a want. Having a big dream I think is important because if it is easily attainable I think people get bored or complacent.

"a church"- there are many different types of organizations in this world and almost all of them have vision statements but what I'm talking about here isn't just any organization but "a church". The church is made up of men, women, boys, and girls who have placed their faith in the saving work of Jesus and have become God's earthly hands and feet. The church isn't some building or piece of property but the people who have come to drink deeply from the spring of eternal life. A church is a unique body of people called by Christ for a purpose and that is what we will be.

"where un-churched people"- I believe that the church has the best thing to offer any person in Jesus Himself. I believe that for far too long churches have done everything possible to avoid contact with un-churched people in a religous context. I believe that Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost and that we need to open our doors and invite un-churched friends into the church so that they can hear and experience the love of God. If we have a bunker mentality that only is inward focused we will continue to decline in our influence with the world and therefore draw even deeper divisions. Although the church is called to stand firm in the truth of Scripture and what it says may be uncomfortable, I believe that the church doesn't have to be boring or happen in a way that would make someone feel totally uncomfortable by how we do things. I want to have a church where people come in and their experience is so wonderful that when they walk out they may say "I don't necessarily agree with what they said today but because of the love I saw I'm going to keep listening." When you have a church like that we have done all we can to set the stage for the Holy Spirit to do His thing. The Gospel is a stumbling block enough so we don't need to add stumbling blocks by our unwillingness to love on the un-churched.

"fall in love with Jesus"- this is the ultimate goal for several reasons. 1)in order for people to fall in love the must hear the truth about that person, at this church we will un-ashamedly preach the facts of the Gospel of Jesus; 2) you must acknowledge the truth of that person, so we will tell people that you need to acknowledge the truth of Scripture in what it teaches about Jesus; 3) you must trust that person, so we will tell people that you need to trust in what Scripture says Jesus did and live your life for Him. When you fall in love with someone you do things for them, not because you feel guilty or because you don't want them to punish you for not doing things but because you love them and want to show them your love. When you love Jesus you do things for Him, His church, and the world because you love Him. We want people to pray for this church, give of their time and money, and invite new people not out of guilt or to avoid scorn but because they love Jesus. We want people to want to serve and grow in the relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit because they are in love. Feelings come and go but true love lasts through the good and bad and that is what we want for people.

As you can see this vision statement isn't just some nice little sentence but a bold leap of faith because what we are hoping to see is a church where people, who are against God, coming and not only tolerating being their but learning to fall in love with Jesus. This is scary because it means you have to get outside of your comfort zone and reach out to people you might never have before because you really believe that God the Holy Spirit can change lives. Going from un-churched to falling in love with Jesus is a big mission but I believe it is the mission of any church and especially should be ingrained in a new church plants DNA.

Church Planting

Many people ask "why would someone want to plant another church since we have so many churches already?" That is a good question and the sad truth of the matter is 85-90% of the churches in America have stopped growing or have started to decline. Most churches just simply add people who have grown un-happy with their current church instead of growing by un-churched people coming to faith in Jesus. Any person that wants to plant a church today must realize that doing things the way they've always been done isn't going to cut it and being more concerned with maintaining the status quo then reaching new people isn't going to work. Almost every person writing about the church today will tell you that our greatest hope for reaching new people is through church planting because there is a correlation between the excitement of something new and people being willing to reach out to their non-churched friends to invite them to church.

Church planting should happen not because we need just another church but because we need new churches that will reach the people currently un-reached by the existing churches. As long as there are people that haven't been reached by the Gospel we need to try new things that will possibly reach out to them. Below you will see some of my thought on what a new church would look like. These "statements" are continually a work in progress till God calls me to put them in "stone" but I think you would get the general direction I'm heading.

Vision Statement:

“We want to be a church where un-churched people fall in love with Jesus”

Core Values:

Transformational Teaching- We believe that the Holy Spirit transforms lives and chooses to use the Bible as a primary means to accomplish this transformation. We believe we can be creative, innovative, and daring in our presentation but still hold tightly to the never changing truths of Scripture.

Purposeful Prayer- We believe that God wants to hear the prayers of His people and that we should seek for God to move. We believe we need to understand God’s plans are not always our plans therefore we need to accept God’s plan even when we don’t understand it.

Building Bridges- We believe that Jesus sacrifice demands of us to reach out to those who don’t know Him both locally and globally. We believe we must do whatever we can to help people physically and emotionally, but also help them understand their primary need is spiritual and that the answer is found in Jesus Christ.

Radical Relationships- We believe God created humans to live in relationship and not alone. We believe that having radical relationships where you can be real and grow in your faith are essential to being who Jesus called us to be as a church.

Simple Strategy- We believe that keeping what we do simple yet strategic will help everyone maximize their ability to become all that God wants them to become and will help our church reach more people with the life changing message of Jesus.

Doctrinal Statement:

the Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12, 13).

the Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—co-eternal in being, co-eternal in nature, co-equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

the Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (John 1:1–2, 14; Luke 1:35). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3–5). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry as Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9, 10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1–2). We believe Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:5; Romans 14:9; 2 Timothy 4:1).

the Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8–11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18).

the Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1–3, 12).

Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 2:8–10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19).

Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37–40; 10:27–30; Romans 8:1, 38, 39; 1 Corinthians 1:4–8; 1 Peter 1:5). We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for the flesh (Romans 13:13, 14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11–15).

the Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowing of spiritual gifts. It is, however, the believer’s responsibility to attempt to develop their sovereignly given spiritual gift(s). The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion and is the placing of the believer into the Body of Christ. We also believe that particular spiritual gift(s) are neither essential, nor prove the presence of the Holy Spirit, nor are an indication of deep spiritual experience (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, 13; Ephesians 4:7–8). We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accordance with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14, 15). We believe that it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to minister according to the gift(s) and grace of God that is given to him (Romans 12:1–8; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 Peter 4:10–11).

the Church
We believe that the church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 5:25–27; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 11:2). We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 18:22; 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1–3; Titus 1:5–11). We believe in the autonomy of the local churches, free of any external authority and control (Acts 13:1–4; 15:19–31; 20:28; Romans 16:1,4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 1 Corinthians 5:4–7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1–4). We recognize believer’s baptism and the Lord’s supper as scriptural means of testimony for the church (Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 2:41, 42; Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).


If you have further questions or would like for me to email you an informative paper written about church planting please let me know.

Leadership

I've been thinking about this quite a bit and I've come to the conclusion that leaders can really only work successfully for other leaders. I think if your personality is more of a manager you are able to work for a leader or a fellow manager but if you're a leader you'll become frustrated and stifled if you work under a manager. "What does a leader look like?" you might be asking and believe me if you want to know there are a million books out there that talk about it. Here is a list of some qualities I believe a leader has:

A leader...

1. realizes God put them in that place for a specific time and reason
2. realizes they won't be there forever so they look for pass on things to the next generation
3. seeks God's wisdom
4. has a vision for the future
5. isn't afraid to make tough decisions
6. listens to those around him
7. communicates the vision to everyone
8. isn't afraid to take calculated risks
9. will rally people around a big idea
10. is constantly asking questions on how things can be better
11. isn't satisfied
12. loves to see others around him succeed
13. wants to be the go to person
14. takes ownership of the decision
15. is strategic

I'm sure you can think of more and I'd love to hear your thoughts as well!

9 Years Later...

...I'm still thinking about a 5 second statement. In 2000 I was a junior in college and my two roomates and I decided to go play golf. When we got to the course there was a guy who joined up with us to make our foursome. I can't remember what hole it was but sometime into our round the conversation with this guy turned to what I would be doing after college and I told this guy I was going to seminary to study the Bible at the graduate level. I remember asking this new guy if he went to church and if he was a Christian, his response has stuck with me for 9 years. He said "I've tried it and it didn't work for me". Now if I was quick on my feet I would have asked, "what did you expect it to do for you?" but I wasn't so I didn't. Over the years I've thought about this conversation often and wondered how he would have answered my comeback but sadly I think I do know. I think there are probably two things he would have said and both sadden me.

The first thing I'm guessing he thought was that if you go to church and you become a "Christian" life will be great. You think at work you'll be promoted and get raises; you think your health will be perfect and nothing bad will appear on those exams; you think your marriage will be great, you'll never fight and have sex every night; and you think your kids will be perfectly behaved and grow up to be successful individuals in life. I'm sure it never crossed his mind that being a Christian doesn't mean those things, in fact it might mean your life appears worse. Right now I'm writing this blog while virtually unemployeed, one of my friends might miscarry a child, another friends husband is in a coma and could possibly die or have his life be totally different when he wakes, my mother has terrible back pain, and thousands if not millions of Christians I don't even know are being persecuted to the point of death. Christianity is not the way to avoid the bad things in life and if you thought that going to church would change that sir I'm sorry we've done or said something to make you think that.

The second thing I'm guessing he might have thought that didn't work for him is that if you go to church and you're a "Christian" you always do, say, and think the right things. So many "church people" have this holier than thou attitude that will turn you off. Sir I'm sorry if we have given you the impression that we're perfect people and then we failed. I'm sorry that I still say, do, and think the wrong things...I'm human just like you and I screw up. If someone gave you the impression that we are perfect I'm sorry.

Being a "Christian" or going to church doesn't mean our lives are all together and it doesn't mean we should think we're perfect, in fact if you're really a "Christian" it should mean the opposite. Sir if you'd really like to know what being a "Christian" can do for you let me tell you. Being a "Christian" means that you realize you are a person that screws up a lot and that even if you don't screw up as much as some you've screwed up enough that God doesn't have the type of relationship with you He wants. If you're a "Christian" you realize that no matter what you do you can't earn God's favor but that you only get it through His grace.

You see sir that by God's grace He decided to send His only Son, Jesus, to this earth to die for us so that if we place our faith in Him we might have an eternal relationship with God the Father. I know this must sound to simple but it wasn't simple on God's behalf, it was very costly. This doesn't mean that life will be perfect and it sure doesn't mean we'll be perfect, but it does mean when we screw up God forgives us because of Jesus. I realize the church and "Christianity" didn't work for you but I'm guessing that is because you expected some genie to grant you wishes and that isn't what God does. God isn't here to make our lives perfect but He wants to make our lives more and more dependent on Him instead of ourselves.

If you've encountered "Christians" that gave you the wrong impression I'm sorry because we shouldn't ever give you the impression living the life of following Jesus is easy, isn't easy but it is worth it because you live everyday forgiven and connected to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in a way you never could before you placed your life in the hands of Jesus. So sir I ask you that if in the future I screw up I hope you'll realize I'm not perfect but a work in progress daily being shaped by God because of His love and forgiveness.

I wish I could go back in time 9 years to talk with that guy but I can't so all I can do is pray someone else will tell and show him what being a Christian really is because I know that God's love and grace can work for him.

Drive Conference 2009 in Review

Last week I had the opportunity to go to the Drive Conference in Atlanta at North Point Community Church. As I expected Andy Stanley and his team did a great job of providing a 3 day getaway for pastors where they could have fun, learn, network, and have more fun. Any time you go to a conference like this it is really hard to narrow down all that you want to talk about because there was so much good stuff. What I'll try to do here, because I know you don't want to read for days, is to tell you all the titles of the main sessions and the breakout sessions I went to and then tell you a point or two that really stood out. If you have never been to Drive I really encourage you to go next May because it will be a great experience.

Andy Stanley was the speaker for the main sessions and the North Point Staff did all the breakouts.

Main Session "Leading in Uncertain Times"
* You need to respond to uncertainty with clarity & flexibility
* Plans can change, but the vision must remain the same
* Die on the hill of vision, but not plans

"Connecting Adults into Small Groups"
* provide multiple ways for people to take the next step of getting assimilated
* realize the joining a small group requires committment and some people just aren't ready for that yet
* make the process easy

"Developing Group Leaders Who Lead Well: What Every Leader Needs"
* simplicity allows for focus, and focus allows for excellence
* clarity prevents frustration & self-defining
* does your training effectively address the needs of your leaders?
* support your leaders
* when you trust your system you can trust your leaders

"Teaching That Sticks"
* you must raise a felt need in the audience
* ask yourself, "what is so important about what I'm about to say?"
* pick 1 point and build everything around it
* the point should be well-crafted, memorable, and as short as possible

Main Session "Listening, Learning, and Leading"
* creativity is intelligence having fun
* leadership is not about making decisions on your own, its about owning decisions once they are made
* the responsibility of the leader is not to make all the decisions, the responsibility of the leader is to ensure that all the decisions made are good ones
* you are probably not the smartest person in your organization, you are just the leader
* leaders are attracted to environments where their ideas and opinions are heard
* leaders who refuse to listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing important to say
* create a system that allows you to get the brightest and most strategic-minded people to the decision-making table and don't just allow seniority to determine structure
* fair ended in Eden, shoot for right

"Putting A Creative Idea to Work"
* the right people are the foundation of a successful creative process
* what is success for your environment?
* define your audience
* don't kill a bad idea too soon
* you have to have permission to fail
* give creative people room to fly but build in accountability

Main Session "Making Vision Stick"
* vision must be transferable
* state it simply- the larger your vision and the more people you want to understand it the simpler it must be
* cast it convincingly- position and present your vision as the solution to a problem that must be addressed immediately
* repeat it regularly- at least twice a year cast vision
* celebrate it systematicly
* embrace it personally & publicly- tie vision into everything & by everyone
* vision requires constant care & attention


As you can see there was a lot to take away from this great conference and I only wish I could have attended more breakout sessions because I didn't even get to go to a lot of other great ones. If you haven't spent much time seeing what North Point is doing to fulfill their vision of "creating a church that unchurched people want to go to" I encourage you too.
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Opportunities

You know it is a tricky thing when you're a "professional" Christian. When I worked for an auto insurance company I got to be around a lot of people that weren't Christians, when I worked for the cell phone company I was around a lot of people that weren't Christians, when I worked on staff at a church I WASN'T around a lot of people that aren't Christians, and now while I'm working in retail sales I'm once again around people that need to know what a relationship with Jesus is all about. It is crazy that when you are a "professional" Christian you seem to be involved in missions more. One of the things I tried to do my last few months when I was on staff at a church was put myself into places where I'll be around non-Christians. One of the main things I did was join a public basketball league in the town where I live. When you are a pastor you have to make a concerted effort to put yourself into situations where you'll meet non-Christians and be available to what God might do. If we expect for God to do something in this world we can't just sit around and hope God will bring them into our church doors. My challenge to all pastors and to myself when I go back on staff at a church is to put myself into situations where God can use me to show people His love and grace.

Reality Check

This weekend we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We celebrate the hope that we find in Him both in life and death. This Good Friday wasn't so good for one of my childhood friends. Early Friday morning my friend learned that her husband was in a terrible accident and could die at any moment. My friend is eight months pregnant with their first child and just the thought of her losing her husband so early in life and with so much to look forward to is almost too much to handle. Her husband is currently in a coma and on life support but his vitals have improved greatly over the last 48 hours.

It is events like this that should and do cause you to stop and think, they make you appreciate what you have in life...health, family, friends. Hundreds of people are praying around the clock for my friend and her husband and we all believe that God has the power to heal but we just don't know if He will. On this Resurrection day we thank God for our many blessing and mostly the hope that we have in life or death because of what Christ has done.

Winds of Change

The Maddness of March is almost over as we enter April and the Final Four is this weekend. April is also an exciting time for Amanda & I because I'm talking with six churches right now and half of those six are getting very close to making a decision. Amanda & I are so excited to find out what God has next for us and it has been so exciting to talk with these churches. These six churches are located all over the country and range from 300 to 3000 in weekly attendence but it is amazing to see what God is doing all over this country. Change can be tough but I believe God uses it to mold us and make us strong so I look forward to whatever this next change will bring for us because we know God is faithful.

March Maddness

We are well into my favorite event of the year...March Maddness. Even though Texas A&M got dumped by UCONN I'm still happy Kansas is fighting. March is usually a really great time for me because of the tournament but this March has been down just a little bit because of my job, or lack there of, situation. March has been maddening waiting to hear what door the Lord will open next but I remain confident that once again He'll show Himself faithful and convince me once again that His plan is better than my plan would have been anyways. If March has been maddening to you as well hold on to hope that God is still faithful and He has a plan.

A Sea of Hopelessness

Yesterday evening the tragic story of four friends that went fishing in the Gulf of Mexico came to an end as the Coast Guard called off their search with only one person being found. In a report today Mr. Cooper's father talked about how he and his son would go out sometimes 50 miles and he would look all around and all he could see was water and how that was scary for him. I've been that far out once but it was on a cruise ship not a small boat. To be honest I can't imagine how scared and the hopeless feeling they must of had when they went into the water during that storm. I can't imagine floating in cold water with 10 foot waves crashing and looking all around and all you see if water. I really can't imagine a worse way to go. My hope is that these three men knew Jesus and in their final minutes He was able to provide them with what only He can provide. We need to pray for these guys families as they deal with this awful experience and once again be reminded that tomorrow isn't promised so come to Jesus if you haven't and if you have already share Him with as many as possible.

Making It Understandable

So I recently got this brand new Chronological Study Bible and I've really been enjoying it as I read through the Old Testament. One of the things I really enjoy about this Bible is that it spends a lot of time focusing on history, archeology, and facts about the culture at the time. So many times when we read the Bible we try to figure out what it means to us, which I think is important, first instead of taking time to try and understand what it meant to the people it was written to originally. It is really fascinating to learn all about how brilliant God was in communicating His truth to the people. He chose to take things from the surrounding culture and tweak it to teach them a better way, He didn't come up with abstract things people had no fimiliarity with but chose to take things that pagan cultures had and so how He was better.

Let me give you an example. In Leviticus 16 on the Day of Atonement God instituted the ritual of the scapegoat. In this ritual the priest would place his hands on the scapegoat and confess the sins of the people. The scapegoat was then sent into the wilderness symbolizing the removal of the peoples sins. The interesting thing is this ritual wasn't unique to Israel, both Anatolia and Mesopotamia attempted to appease angry gods by using animals to carry away a plague or other evil suffering. In the Hittite ritual the king even places his hands on the animal. The difference God brought to Israel's ritual was that a second animal was used to be sacrificed to Him as a sin offering.

So what does this teach us about today? I think it shows us the a couple things. First, I believe it is extremely important to understand what the Biblical message was to its original readers, you need to understand what God was trying to say to His people. Second, I believe it shows us that God approves of us using the common things of culture to bring His message. To many people today get really upset and accuse preachers of mixing "the world" into their messages but we see that God didn't have any problems taking the things of this world and showing how He is better and that people understand the message quicker when they can relate it to what they experience in life.

The Pursuit of Happiness

This is one the most recent sermons I did at Hawthorne Gospel Church. This was given four times that weekend to over 2000 people. This message is about how to pursue happiness because it is something God wants us to have in our lives.

"Jumper" Theology

Yesterday I watched a pretty entertaining movie called "Jumper". If you haven't seen the movie basically it is about a group of people called jumpers (duh) who have the ability to "jump" through time and space into other places (ie. I could jump from my room to the top of the Empire Building instantly and then I could suddenly appear at the Eiffel Tower). In this movie Samuel L. Jackson plays a character whose job is to catch these jumpers and kill them.

Now here is the "Jumper Theology" I want to briefly talk about. In the movie Jackson's character says he has to kill these jumpers because only God should have that power. So...if you read into what he is saying his belief is that God has the ability to appear in any place He wants instantly because He can jump around. Sound pretty harmless? Now let me say I don't think this movie is trying to be theological but here is the great truth of Scripture....God isn't a jumper but He is omni-present. What is the difference you might ask?

In the movie a jumper can only be at one place at one time whereas the God of the Bible is equally located, because He is Spirit, at all places at once. What does this mean to us? The fact of God's omni-presence should give us comfort that no matter where you are and what you're going through He is there. If I am hurting here in North Jersey and you are hurting wherever you are He is there. If God where a jumper he could only deal with us one at a time...how'd you like to be 2/3 of the way down that list! Trust in God's faithfulness and call out to Him because He is there and He cares.

College Basketball

I am a huge college basketball fan, have been for as long as I can remember. Saturday is a great day whether it is the fall (football) or the spring (basketball) because I can sit in my chair and watch sports all day while I do other stuff around the house. Today I watched my Aggies win a big game against Oklahoma St., we needed that win big time. Hopefully my Aggies can pull together some wins and get into the tournament this year but they don't have a go to guy so it could be tough. Anyways...I hadn't written anything lately so I thought I'd write about college basketball :)

Sermons

I've posted 4 sermons that I did this last year for your enjoyment and hopefully God will use them to encourage you or challenge you. The best way to watch them is start with the bottom (first) one and move up as I posted them. I'd also love to hear your thoughts as well so post a comment. Enjoy!

Patience

Lately I've been reading the story of Joseph in Genesis. Every time I read the story of a boy who is told by God that great things are in store and then so many apparent roadblocks come up it amazes me of how faithful he remains. I'm sure there were times when Joseph got discouraged, possibly while in the pit or prison, but overall his faith stayed strong. He remained patient believing that God would accomplish His plans even in the midst of hardships. Now I'm not comparing myself to Joseph, I didn't have some vision or anything like that but I do truly believe deep down that God has great things for my life.
These last couple weeks have been tough because an apparent roadblock has come along. Getting layed off from a job is never easy and especially when you didn't see it coming but I have to trust that God's plan included this and He will make me better for it. Patience isn't one of my strongest traits but God is trying to teach me to be patient. So many times in life things don't work out the way we'd like but we have to trust in the plan of God. The apparent roadblocks that come up in our lives don't surprise Him and I truly believe are ways for God to sharpen us. I appreciate your continued prayer for Amanda & I in this time and I encourage you that no matter what comes up in your life to continue to trust in God's plan and be patient.

Hi, My Name is Jealous

This sermon was given at Hawthorne Gospel Church during a Sunday night series on the Book of Exodus. In chapter 34 God calls Himself "Jealous" because of His deep love for His people. So many times we're distracted from what God says and wants but passages like these tell us how great is His love.

Talking to A New Culture

In todays societ Christianity has a bad name in many circles and unfortunately you can't blame people for their perceptions. As Christians if we want to build relationships with those that don't agree with us we need to understand what they believe and work towards not giving them a reason to continue in that belief. Jesus called us to reach out to the world with His message and that all begins with being willing to get outside of our comfort zone and build a relationship with someone new.

Let the Worship Begin

Music is such an interesting study, it can help us worship God in the church. Music can also cause quite a bit of controversy in the church. In this message I try to touch on what is behind the music more than any particular style. When you sing in worship to God what is going on in your heart? You see worship through music is more than just some melodies or harmonies, it should be honest reflection of our heart towards God. Check out this message I gave on a Saturday night at Hawthorne Gospel Church and see if you need a heart check.

The Pursuit of Happiness

This video is of a sermon I preached at Hawthorne Gospel Church in preparation of our small group launch. I had a lot of fun with this since I got to be a little more free then what is usual at HGC. Hopefully you'll listen to what Scripture really says about finding happiness.

The Beginning

Today as we watch the Inauguration of our 44th President Barack Obama I launch my new blog. No matter what your political beliefs are you really can't help but being excited about what could happen. Change is good and only in America does it happen this seamlessly. As Christians we should be praying for our President whether we agree with his policy or not because that is what God has called us to do. We need to pray for him for wisdom, patience, and safety. We are in tough times in our country but we know that God is in control and has a plan. God bless America!

This blog will be a place where I'll post sermon video and also give some random thoughts on different things. I hope that this helps you get to know me a little better and maybe encourages you that God can do anything through anyone.