Sponge Week Continues

This week I have labeled it Sponge Week. No, I'm not at some SpongeBob Conference, but I've just been blessed to have opportunities to soak in wisdom from so many different people.

Earlier this week I got to hang out with a good friend of mine, Brad Leach, a church planter in Detroit, MI at a small group gathering he leads of future church planters. They were discussing a fascinating book that I'm going to pick up called, The Celtic Way of Evangelism.

Then the next day, I had lunch with Pastor Bruce Van Hal. He is the church planting pastor at Mount Hope Church where they've planted 20 churches in the state of Michigan in the last 19 years. They're goal is to plant another 10-15 in the next 3 years! That's big time vision!! Just had a blast soaking up this guy's wisdom and learning from his experiences.

Now I'm in Surprise, AZ at the Multiplicity Church Planting Conference. The speakers have been good, but by far my favorite moment was last night sitting in the Green Room in the back listening to Dr. Ed Stetzer and Alan Hirsch going back and forth discussing everything from being Missional to Calvinism. These guys are brilliant! That moment right there was worth the whole trip out here!

So that's the wrap up of Sponge Week so far - now back to soaking it in!!

Ten Habits of Incompetent Managers (or Pastors)

I came across this article on FastCompany.com about incompetent leaders. Read through it and do your best not to be this.

Things I'm Thankful For

At the ripe old age of 26 (I know, I'm ancient!), I feel so blessed by God to have the life I do. It's a life I definitely don't deserve, but boy do I enjoy living it! As I've reflected on this day of thanksgiving, here's a few things I'm thankful for:

>A Great Family: It is so awesome to be a part of a family with such a rich godly heritage! I had a great time today enjoying that heritage...and their good cooking!!

>A Great Church: The question I have is what did I ever do right to be able to serve in such an incredible church? This really is one of the great churches in our nation!

>Great Friends: Through high school, college and in ministry, I feel so blessed by the people God has surrounded me with. They are people I truly love and admire. Even though I am a bit of a geek, thanks for at least acting like my friend!! :)

Saying NO to Say YES

There is a disease that I suffer from. I think it is something I inherited from my mother. It often keeps me from being able to do what I really should be doing. And the worst part of this disease is I actually have the antidote. It is the disease of 'The Yes.'

We are all guilty of always saying 'Yes'. For some reason, it's easier to take on more responsibility and more work than to simply offer the counter...No. In the craziness of life, though, we don't realize that in saying 'Yes' to one thing, we're actually saying 'No' to something else.

Our ability to lead will be based on our ability to 'Yes' to the right things and delegating or saying 'No' to the rest. My question for you is what are you saying 'Yes' to that you should be saying 'No'?

Great Day at BridgePoint

This past Sunday we had a great service at our new church plant, BridgePoint Church! We are utilizing a new approach with this plant - we are having monthly preview services leading up to the launch into weekly services on March 16. This month's attendance of 73 puts us right on track for a very healthy launch. Continue to keep this church in your prayers as God is on the move in Tarentum! You can read more about the service here.

5 Marketing Mistakes Churches Make

Marketing can often be seen as an 'unspiritual' thing and is taboo for some churches. But I would say we have the greatest product this world has ever known to promote. With that said, check out this article by Tony Morgan on Outreach.com. It's fascinating to see what churches often do wrong in marketing themselves.

Reflections on Today

I've been in Minneapolis the last couple days at North Central University interviewing students. Today I had the opportunity to go to chapel and it was a great time! One Accord led worship (they were at APC in September) and I saw one of the coolest things I've seen in a while: A couple rows of deaf students worshipping God in sign language! It was pretty cool!

Then this evening I had a little time so I did what is obligated for anyone visiting the Twin Cities, I went to Mall of America. Miraculously, I didn't buy anything but they do have any store you could think of! It's basically it's only little city. They have their own police force and they even have a church! Well, off to bed (I fly out at 5:20 tomorrow morning-I know, I'm crazy!).

Mentors

I want to try something here. Mentors are a valuable component to the health and success of any person. We all need to be 'following someone as they follow Christ.' Last week I told you about a mentor in my life, Otto Wegner. I'm curious to see what qualities are being invested into many of you. Leave a comment below and let us know who is a mentor in your life and what's the most valuable thing you've learned from that mentor?

Being a Decisive Leader

Despite what some employees or staff might say, most leaders or senior pastors are well-intentioned people. They really do want their organization/company to grow and be the best it can be. Too often, however, that desire gets lost in the confusion of being an indecisive leader.

If there is one thing that can drive staff and even the most committed from your ranks it's being indecisive as a leader. An indecisive leader usually falls into one of the following categories:

> A leader that lacks vision for his/her organization. Without clear direction, it becomes incredibly difficult to lead others. As a mentor in my life once said, "It's really tough to steer a parked car." You will find leaders guilty of this often complaining about the lack of passion or misdirected in their congregations or employees. What's ironic, is that lack of passion is actually their fault. Without vision, there can be no unified passion or even passion at all in some people. The best advice I would give for this leader is get on your face before God and get that God-sized vision. Once you get, sell it to your staff. People will follow you to the ends of the earth for a vision they believe in.

> A leader that has vision, but lacks conviction. This leader at least has established vision, but their certainty in the validity of that vision is waining. This leader needs to clarify and confirm their vision. If you have a vague idea or direction, clarify it. Clarity brings confidence. Even more importantly, though, this leader needs to gain more confidence in who God is made them and where He's placed them.

> A leader is trying to please everybody. As the popular saying goes, "When you're trying to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody." If you are in a church setting, this is even more evident. In any organization, if you have 100 people, you will have 100 different opinions on how things should be run. You need to know what environment and direction you feel led to create and just do it. Most people will actually respect you more for moving forward with conviction rather than trying to please. Now I understand you don't want to be so 'task-oriented' that you forget people. You need to remember your reason for being is people, but move forward with your vision.

So on behalf of the many frustrated employees and staff, please don't pull a John Kerry impersonation. Move forward with what you feel led to do and stick to your guns.

Making a Spiritual Pilgrimage

Mark Batterson often talks about the importance of making a spiritual pilgrimage to places of significance in our spiritual journey. This morning I was able to do just that.

During spring break of my sophomore year in college I went on a missions trip to Highway Tabernacle in Philadelphia. This trip changed my life. During my week there I felt God specifically direct me towards urban ministry. That trip is a big reason why I am doing what I am today. I still remember sitting in the nursery of that church one morning feeling stretched out of what was normal that I couldn't help but surrender. It was a transformational moment in my life.

In addition to having the opportunity to see Highway Tabernacle again, I also was able to have breakfast with a hero of mine, Otto Wegner (the pastor of Highway Tabernacle). Otto has planted churches all over the Northeast and I love spending time with him because of his years of experience and wealth of wisdom. I just listened for a couple hours to him sharing about everything from church planting to CBC. It was awesome!! So needless to say, it was a good day!!

The City of Brotherly Love...and Cheese Steaks!!

For those of you that don't know, I am in the middle of a little recruiting tour. I was out in Springfield, MO last week and am now in Philadelphia at VFCC. I have had a great time interviewing students and had the opportunity to share what God is doing in Pittsburgh in an urban ministry class yesterday. It's awesome to see college students who have a passion for inner city ministry! Then last night with a friend of mine (Rich Jones), I got to do what any sane person should do when in Philly...eat a Cheese Steak!! It was delicious!

On a side note, one thing I have been sharing with students at CBC and now VFCC that have a passion for church planting is something that we can often all be guilty of. In our human nature, and especially innate in church planters, we have this tendency to want to be independent and go it alone. To be the pioneer that blazes the trail. But God has not created us as independent pods working to establish His kingdom. He has created us as His own. We are adopted into His family - meaning we a part of something bigger. We should always have that connection to something bigger. As I mentioned in a previous post, it provides accountability. So today, ask yourself what am I connected to that is larger than myself?

APC Church Plant in Springfield, MO

Well, I had a great week interviewing and talking to students about church planting out in Springfield, MO, the 'Mecca' of the Assemblies of God. While I was out there, I couldn't help but wonder what an APC Church Plant would look like in Springfield. While I was driving down Commercial St. I think found it. We could call it RidgePoint!!

Church This Morning

This morning I attendend James River Assembly here in Springfield. It is the 2nd largest Assemblies of God church in the nation. They have over 7,000 in attendance every Sunday morning. Yeah, it's pretty big! I sat in my car for 15 minutes after church just to get out of the parking lot! We heard a great message by Dr. Mark Rutland, the president of Southeastern University. As much as I enjoyed the service, though, I did miss APC. I'll be back soon everybody!

...Yet I will rejoice.

This morning I read through the book of Habakkuk. The book transposes the conversations between the prophet Habakkuk and God. Throughout the book Habakkuk is pleading with God for justice and healing in his land. My favorite part of the book, though, is Habakkuk's final response:

"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior."
Habakkuk 3:17-18

In the midst of your circumstances and whatever life has thrown your way, know that there is still joy for you. There is still joy in the mundane, in the place of no return. When we see destruction, take joy, God is at work.