Tomorrow!!

For those that are curious, tomorrow I will reveal my Big Announcement. I will post the announcement at 1:00PM if you care to know what it is.

I hope you all have a great evening tonight, but please be careful. Tonight is one of the most dangerous nights of the year, especially on the roads!

See you in '08!

A Pakistani and Power

This weekend we had Christopher Alam speak in our services and wow, he did a great job!! He is a former Muslim who grew up in Pakistan. For the last 30 years he has traveled all over the world doing crusades and has planted over 1,000 churches! Not only does he have a powerful testimony, but a powerful ministry.

It really struck me that some Christians experience this powerful moment of conversion but that's where the power stops. Today be a person of power. Not humanistic power, but of spiritual power. Allow God to use you in a supernatural way! His power is not only for the transformation of your life, but also of the lives of those around you.

Hot Topic: Innovation

This past week, for whatever reason, Innovation's been a popular topic in the blogosphere. Here's a few posts and articles that I came across this week that are pretty good:

>Dave Ferguson talks about the link between Church Planting & Innovation here.

>Ben Arment talks about the connection between Innovation & Failure here.

>Innovation Lessons from Apple here.

>A great post by Tony Morgan about Innovation & The Three Little Pigs here.

Also, on a side note, only 3 days until the Big Announcement...I can't wait!!

Great Marketing

Yesterday I had the chance to go to New York City with a couple of my cousins and had a lot fun! While there I saw one of the best marketing ideas I think I've ever seen. The best marketing scheme accomplishe two things:

1. They meet a perceived need.
2. They go so over the top you cannot help but notice the product.

Charmin has done just that at Times Square. If you've ever visited NYC, you would know that after a long day of walking around it's tough to find a nice clean bathroom to use. Well, Charmin now has the coolest bathrooms I've ever seen and they're right on Times Square. As you wait in line for the bathrooms indoors, there is music playing, people dancing and an MC hyping up the crowd...to go to the bathroom! Pretty amazing. Plus they clean the bathrooms after each use. They even have a merchandise area where you can buy Charmin jackets, scarves, and hats. A toilet paper company is selling jackets!!

If they can get people that excited about toilet paper, how much more should we with the greatest product ever? How does that happen? We just need to be creative. Charmin didn't create that excitement by just doing things as they've always been done. They were creative and went over the top! Can we do the same with the gospel? I think we can!

What a Christmas!

Well, I was met with a pleasant surprise when we arrived at my cousins' house in Scranton: Turns out they now have wireless internet!! Merry Christmas to me! Here's my two favorite moments of the day:

When my mom came downstairs in the Santa outfit she made back when I was in high school.

My dad driving to my cousins' house trying to lower the arrival time on my mom's new GPS Navigator. Every time he would knock off another minute he'd notify us all in the car by yelling out the new arrival time! It was hilarious!!


I hope you all had a great day with your family as well. We're going into downtown Scranton today - I'm going to be on the lookout for Dwight! Have a great day!!

Merry Christmas

We had three great Christmas Eve services tonight at APC. It is so awesome to work at a church that is packed on Christmas Eve!! I love it! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and get all you asked Santa for! :)

On a side note, just wanted to share the last and final hint leading up to my BIG ANNOUNCEMENT next Tuesday, January 1. Many of you have had some great guesses but here's your next hint:

It will require you to do something.

I'll be without internet access for the next few days so I'll catch you guys on the flip side!

Christmas Outfits

Christmas time brings a lot of good out in people: joy, a spirit of giving, love. But it also brings out some of the worst in people, and by worst I mean Christmas outfits. Well, for those of you that attend APC, tomorrow morning we are unofficially calling it "Crazy Christmas Sweater Day". There is a group of us that hit the Thrift Stores today and picked up some 'crazy sweaters'. I would invite anyone attending one of the services tomorrow morning to join in. It will be a fun way to celebrate all that is good and bad with Christmas!! :) Hope to see you there in that sweater from 1980 with Rudolph and the blinking nose on the front!!

Presence

At this time of the year as a child you live for the presents. I remember growing up, I was always the first one up Christmas morning. I would be so excited to see what presents were under the tree that morning. I'm sure many of you could relate, but as I've aged (yes, I'm an ancient 26 now!), I've realized a shift for me. The joy no longer is in the presents, but rather the presence of those I love. As all my cousins have grown and some are now married and spread all over the country, this is the one time each year I get to see most of them. I value that presence with family.

Maybe you're not blessed with a supporting family that you're looking forward to seeing this Christmas, but make it a point surround yourself with people who's presence improve your life. Whether that's at Christmas or just everyday. Those we surround ourselves with will greatly affect who we are and what we do. If you want to be more positive, be in the presence of positive people. If you want to eat better, make it a point to be in the presence of physically healthy people. As kids we learn this principle, but I think we forget it as adults: You will become like those you are around. This Christmas and in this new year, make it a priority to be in the presence of those that improve your life.

14 More Days

I know many of you probably could care less about this 'Big Announcement', but just indulge me!! :) Only 14 days until the Big Announcement. Next week I'll reveal another hint.

Here's your first hint:
It will change the way you view me.

A Great Day at BridgePoint

We had another great monthly service at BridgePoint Church yesterday in Tarentum. The threat of ice and snow affected our attendance, but we still had 59! You can read more about it here.

One cool thing that I'm watching take place is the launch team is beginning to really take ownership of what is taking place. It's not just a church they're coming to, it's their church. Let me give you an example: For our first two monthly services I've been bringing a box of donuts for those that come early to set up. Well, this month I didn't bring them because no one had really been eating them. At around 8:15 as the team starts to show up in walks one of the lady's on the launch team to set-up and she has a box of donuts in her hands! It's just cool to see this ownership taking place.

Reaching People By Whatever Means Necessary

"The sacred page is not meant to be the end, but only the means toward the end, which is knowing God himself."
-A.W. Tozer

As I read this quote, it made me think what means are we using to help people know God himself - to know the person of Jesus Christ? Are there means we haven't even thought of yet? I think so.

A few weeks ago, I was walking through the mall past Hollister and then Abercrombie and Fitch and if you've ever walked by either of those stores there is one thing that will always hit you as you pass by...the smell. It's not a bad smell, but actually a very welcoming, almost cool fragrance. It got me to thinking, which can be dangerous. In the church world, we use three and often four of our senses very well to communicate the love of Christ:

>Sound: We regularly proclaim the Truths of Scripture and proclaim God's goodness in worship.
>Sight: We use lights, screens and other tools to help those within the church engage in worship and the message.
>Touch: Depending on your church, the love of Christ is communicated through a firm handshake or a loving hug from a greeter or friend.
>Taste: Many churches actually excel at this one more than any other. Two words: Pot-Luck. Enough said.

The one sense I have never heard of a church using is the sense of smell. Yes, I said smell. You might think this to be crazy, but if God desires we worship Him with all our being (that being all of our senses), how could a church use the sense of smell to direct people to Christ? Would it be pumping a fragrance into their sanctuary or foyer?

Tell me what you think. What are some creative ways we could use the sense of smell in the church? Or what are other creative ways to use the other four senses?

Bringing Value as a Leader

Today I was listening to a podcast with John Maxwell and he brought up a good point (as he often does!) for a leader. Often as leaders we can become so focused on furthering our cause or motivating those we're leading to do something, but one of our responsibilities as leaders is to bring value to those around you. A good leader motivates others to action, but a great leader not only motivates but brings value to those they lead.

Here's your action point: What value are you bringing to those you're leading?

The Centrality of Community

I came across this quote and have this question for you: Can the gospel truly be experienced outside community?

“The centrality of the community to the gospel means that the message is never disembodied. The word must always become flesh, embodied in the life of the called community. The gospel cannot be captured adequately in propositions, or creeds, or theological systems, as crucial as all of these exercises are. The gospel dwells in and shapes the people who are called to be its witness. …If there is good news for the world, then it is demonstrably good in the way that it is lived out by the community called into its service… The lived out testimony of the Christian community is to become a witness, visible and audible, given in and to the world, so that the gospel will spread.” — Darrell Guder

Big Announcement

In a few weeks, on January 1, I have a big announcement. Stay tuned for more info.

Great Service Today

This morning I spoke at Bethel Assembly in Pittsburgh and had a great time! I had been there a few times as a teenager for Pittsburgh Invasion and it was cool to be back there speaking. Here's some brief notes:

Nehemiah 1:1-4

>Nehemiah would not settle for where his city was, but he wanted to see his city transformed.
>He walked this journey towards transformation in four ways: (Sorry for the alliteration, I just had to!)

1. He walked this journey with PASSION.
-We need to weep for our city. Seeing our city changed by the gospel needs to be more than just a good idea, we should be passionate about it.

2. He walked this journey in PRAYER.
-As Christians we need to spend this valuable time in prayer to offer ourselves in humility to God to allow Him to empower us to change our city.

3. He walked this journey with PURPOSE.
-This is where we must learn to listen as we spend time in prayer. What is God wanting you to do? What part does He want you to play in transforming your city?

4. He walked this journey with PERSEVERANCE.
-If you're walking in God's will and being obedient you can guarantee you'll face opposition. Will you back down, or is your heart so broken for your city that you know deep within nothing is going to stop you from being used by God?

When we walk those steps we become God's agents of change in our world and our city and we'll see lives rebuilt and life restored in our city.

One small testimony: I met three people after the service that had already started a small prayer group in their office complex and really felt God calling them to reach this complex for Christ. They saw their workplace as their mission field! Praise God!!

Home Sweet Home

I have really enjoyed and felt blessed to be able to travel for most of this past month, but it sure is great to be home!! Today I spent most of the day doing laundry and cleaning things up. In a little while I get to have dinner with my parents for my dad's birthday and then teach a class at the local Teen Challenge Center. It's a good day!!