Church and Our Family

I came across this interesting and profound song by a group called, The Streets. It's basically about a son who lost his father and is now left to ponder the purpose of his life while living in the shadow of his dad's legacy. Unfortunately, his father failed to leave him a foundation in which to find peace with his Savior. Why? Because they never went to church. Give it some thought.

Monday morning Quarterback

Arguably one of the best college football coaches in our day was Lou Holtz. The Minnesota Golden Gophers were fortunate to have Lou as their head coach for a brief two year period (1984-85). And after a very difficult loss to the Wisconsin Badgers Lou addressed his team by saying, “Wisconsin beat us this Saturday, but we will not make the mistake of letting them beat us again next Saturday.” In other words, it is what it is. It’s time to move on.


I believe that if you are a pastor today and you feel the hills and valleys of ministry, Lou’s words can serve us well. Maybe you’re feeling a bit discouraged by what went on this Sunday under your watch and you left the parking lot feeling a bit roughed up. Monday morning quarterback, although helpful, can be discouraging if you fail to release the issues of the past and neglect to focus your energy on the future. The good news is that Sunday is coming again and you’ll get another crack at it.

So strap on the chin strap, stay committed, and getting ready to be surprised by God.

Twitter: know when to hold them, know when to fold them

I joined Twitter a number of months ago and I must admit, I'm loving it. I have found Twitter to be extremely helpful in connecting with individuals who hold a plethora of knowledge and wisdom in so many areas of life. I have been astonished by the openess and honesty in which people approach life. In fact, I wish my entire church would Twitter. In doing so, I think I would know a lot more about my flock in which I serve (the good and the bad). I have also been able to connect on a personal level with my wife. Twitter is a great way of simply sharing, "I love you," during a tired time of the day.

But now I have come up against a real challenge on Twitter. Who should you keep, and who needs to be removed? In the past 10 days I have removed 23 people from my Twitter list. And with each removal, I truly feel awful and a sense of remorse. In fact, I feel bad when I am removed from someone's list as well (a tear is forming).

So, what I have done is this: I have made my "HOLD THEM" and "FOLD THEM" list. Remember Kenny Rogers and the Gambler? Hey, it works for Twitter too!

WHO DO I HOLD?

1. Those who share their heart openly & authentically (good times and bad)
2. Those who approach life with their cup "half full"
3. Those who are invovled in transforming their culture
4. Those who are humble in spirit - (Micha 6:8)

WHO DO I FOLD?

1. Those who only want to sell you something (solicitors)
2. Those who love seeing themselves on Twitter (every 5 seconds)
3. Those who use Twitter as a phone conversation. Go direct, people!
4. Those who brag about their Twitter numbers (gets really old, fast)

In addition, I admire Twitter folks that are well known in our world (a bit popular) that are also following the same amount of people who follow them. In fact, I wrote to a particular gentleman who has over 4000 followers, and yet, he is following 4123. I love what he wrote back to me: "Who's not to say that each of these friends won't have something significant to contribute to my life as well?" Okay ~ that's a home run, folks! That's a guy worth following.

I hope you are loving your time on Twitter as much as I do. It's my hope that you will be dealt the perfect hand and that you will know just when to "hold them or fold them.

New Series: First Aid

I'm anxiously awaiting our new Series this Sunday at Willowbrook. I truly believe that the defining moment of any church is when a community of people are in need of help, hope, and healing.

This Sunday (February 22nd) I will be teaching on how the church was designed by God to be "thee" economical stimulus package for our culture. Many individuals and families are hurting finacially today. And the question that the church must answer is this: "Will we walk across the street and be the good Samaritan?"

I'm pumped about this Series. Here's a short trailer for this Sunday's message.

Bandaids may help, but they don't heal

I am very anxious to get to our next Series started at Willowbrook because it has to do with the church helping the hurting (first response). I've entitled this message series, "First Aid."

I'm not sure about you, but most of my friends are going through some tough times right now. And the question that comes out of this is: "How can the church help assist the hurting?"

You can't help but open a newspaper today and read about some type of "stimulus" package for our Country. Our government has brought together some of the best and brightest to attempt to figure out what is happening in our economy - and how it can be fixed. We are learning that the problem is much deeper than a flesh wound, but it goes direcly to the heart.

Bandaids may work to aleviate the initial bleeding of a wound, but bandaids are no substitute for true healing. Unfortunately, I believe that most churches today tend to concentrate on buying or marketing more colorful bandaids while failing or neglecting to address the real issues in the body.

The attempt of our new series is to look at how we (the body of Christ) can truly bring healing to those hurting financially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Please pray with me that God will impact our community by "stimulating" His Church to meet the needs of those who are hurting with reckless abandon.

I'm pumped to watch the outcome of what God is going to do!

Diving in to Make a Difference

Thirty-four Willowbrookers took the plunge in cold and frigid waters to raise resources for Special Olympics. Willowbrook was the number one group, raising 5600.00. Next year, it's our hope to double or triple the size of our group. Can we do 100? Oh ya.

POINT: You must leave the ledge to make a splash!