Gearing up 4 Fall

I think that one of the most exciting, yet - challenging times for a church is the fall season. Lately, I've noticed that even television stations are pumping up their "new fall lineup" in hopes to gather a crowd and to boost their ratings. Fall is a great time to offer up new ideas, new training, and a new perspective on how to do life together as a church. In fact, most research suggests that the fall season records the highest rate of turnout among new church goers. In other words, more people are willing to try something new in the fall, including church - more than any other time of the year.

So, I want to pray for our churches this fall. I want to pray that we all take advantage of this "new' season to impact our community for Christ. May this be the harvest season!

Revolution takes just ONE

Our newest member on our staff at WCC pointed out this pretty cool video that demonstrates that it only takes one to start a revolution. Question: Can you be that one for Jesus - no matter where God has you positioned in His plan? Go for it! Start dancing today ~

The Challenge of Being Plastic

"Cleanliness becomes more important when godliness is unlikely."
P. J. O'Rourke

Each of us face the daily challenge of living our lives to please Jesus. John explains it this way, "Those who claim to follow Jesus must walk as Jesus walked" (1 John 2:6). You talk about a tall order. Even Apostle Paul, in Romans 7, admitted that the day to day challenge of walking in Christ's steps can be overwhelming to his human nature. He's left to wonder, "who can save me?"

Yogi Berra once said, "When confronted with a fork in the road, take it!" Obviously, this tends to be our dilemma when trying to please the Lord and also trying to satisfy our human nature. How most Christians resolve this issue is by turning plastic. In other words, since godliness may not work out for my convenience, at least I can look clean on the outside and fool a few people along the way. It's going plastic. Apostle Paul resisted this by openly writing about his shortfalls. The Bible says that we are to avoid going plastic by confessing our sins to "each other." This type of transparency restores our relationship with the Father and with each other.

So, next time I'm confronted with a fork in the road, I want to choose either right or left. Going down the middle is not the right decision, moreover, it leads to becoming a plastic person.

Let's stay real everyone! Pray for me.

Newest Staff Member @ WCC - Joel Nelson

I am so amped to have another member on our great staff at WCC. Joel Nelson and I have a bit of history together. Years ago we were neighbors together at Bethel Seminary (let me stress... years ago). Later in life (years after seminary) we both went on to start new churches - in separate parts of the Twin Cities. After this, our paths crossed again on a Leadership event in Ukraine. We were roommates for a full week while in Ukraine. Oh ya...I have some stories to tell you. And now, nearly 15 years later, we will be serving side by side at an awesome church together. Today is Joel's first staff meeting with us. It will be great having his presence in our "locker room."

Let's face it. Those lines do not look straight do they? Be honest. You're eyes are being fooled.

I'm really jazzed about our new series at Willowbrook called, iLLUSION. A while back I started having some thoughts about the art of deception and how so many of us can be fooled or tricked by enticing scams in magazines or on television. It's as if our hearts has this special place in it that truly wants to believe in the unbelievable. And although this might noble, it does open us up to the power of deception.

I've been teaching from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4, and the parable of the sower/soil. In my study of this particular parable I've noticed that Jesus is truly teaching about the art of deception in which we can be so easily tricked to stray off course. Although God sends out the sower and although the seeds are released from His hand, the world deceives us with competitive tricks or gimmicks to steal our hearts away from God. But to the one who remains focused and avoids being fooled or deceived by the pull of the enemy's schemes, this person will produce a crop/life that will grow and multiply with blessings.

I believe that this series has the potential to expose some of these dangerous schemes and to bring about God's clarifying principles to the truth.

Would love to see you join us for this intriguing series.

Take a Break. Why Not?

I love personal challenges. And one of the challenges that I recently committed to was to take a one month break from my blog entries. Why? Well -a relative of mine shared with me that in order to keep things fresh in his life, he discovered that each passion or obsession needed a resting point. Just as the body needs rest for the new day ahead, so our dreams and passions do as well. In doing so, we come at it with fresh eyes and with new perspectives. In ministry, they often call this a sabbatical. In fact, in the New Testament we are told that Jesus often times went to an isolated area to be with himself - to collect his thoughts and to pray. I must confess, there were many times during this past month that I thought, "Wow. This would be a great blog entry." But it tested the glue of my commitment to stay true to the goal.

What is something in your life that you may need to put to rest for a bit in order to come at it again with more energy and efficiency?

A little sunshine on a Rainy Lake

This past week I got the rare opportunity to get away and refuel my engines by doing something I truly love to do - fish. Fishing can take my mind to different places and it allows me to experience the beauty of God's creation. After a five hour drive into Canada, Rainy Lake produced some great fellowship along with some big fish!

I always come away with...

This Sunday after church I got the privilege to do a little "exit greeting" as people left our 10:00 service. I love exit greeting because it gives me the opportunity to mix and mingle with just about everybody (young and old - first time guest and veterans). But I also must add that exit greeting (for me) does come with some elements of risk.

For example, several years ago an elderly lady did not recognize me as the teaching pastor while I was exit greeting that Sunday and she wanted to know if "the guy" on stage (which was me) is really the pastor at this church? I said to her, "He's all we got." And she smirked at me and said, "I guess he'll have to do!" Not sure how to take that!

And just this week, a lady came out of the service and was moving pretty fast to the exit door when I asked her if she would like a Willowbrook magnet with our summer calendar on the front? She quickly looked at me and said, "I'm in a hurry because the speaker went long today!" Ouch! I must admit, I wasn't expecting that from my MOM! Anyhow....

In all truthfulness, I was truly blessed this Sunday following the service because I met a sixty-four year old woman who has been attending Willowbrook for her third weekend and as I handed her our summer magnet I noticed that she had written down a lot of information on her worship outline from my message. I joked with her and said, "I'm happy to see at least someone is using my sermon notes." And she responded,

"I always come away with a few nuggets of truth to apply to my life."

I just about melted!

Now, I'm not saying that 64 is old. So don't get me wrong with what I'm about to say - but here it goes:

I hope that when I'm 64 that I am still collecting nuggets!

I think that when most people get to be my age (31 ..., okay 44) we tend to think we know all of the answers. We tend to think we can't be surprised anymore. I think in many ways, sadly enough, we have been "tamed," like a circus animal. We don't live for the adventure of following Jesus. But not this lady. She is a nugget collector.

What about you?

Are you like a deer that pants for water when it comes to Jesus?
Do you have a passion for the truth?
And if so, how much energy are you willing to spend to find it?


Something to think about!

I am committed to improving

I believe that one of the essential for leadership growth is an attitude that expresses, "I am committed to improving." When it comes to a great marriage, people just don't accidentally fall into a good marriage. Instead, all great marriages have a common denominator - they are committed to improving their skills, and they seek out the best resources to allow it to happen. At our church I oversee a lot of talented people. And although talent can help get you down the road, rarely does talent alone have enough gas get you all the way home.

Ecclesiastes 10:10 reads,

If an ax is blunt and the edge isn't sharpened, then one has to use more strength. But wisdom prepares the way for success.

If a person is talented, but they are not committed to improving their skills, they are very much like this dull ax described by Solomon. Sure, they can rely just on their raw talent to impress a person or two, but when it comes to their full impact for the kingdom it will fall way short of God's outrageous design for their lives.

My prayer for me as I continue to walk this path of leadership is this: That by this time next year, I will have sharpened the ax even more by becoming much wiser through humility along with a deep passion and desire to always improve.

What about you? What do you see yourself becoming next year for Christ? What areas do you need to improve on (sharpen)?

Those Lovely Patterns

I was reminded this week, as I performed a child dedication at our church, how important the role of a parent is when it comes to spiritual development for their son or daughter. My mind went back to Sesame Street and the familiar song, "One of these thing just doesn't belong here." Remember that crazy game? The idea behind this particular lesson was for the child (watching from his or her television set) to point to that one object or "thing" that was different from the rest. For example, from the four objects listed, which one of these is not like the other?

One of the first things kids learn to identify are shapes. Much of our right brain stimulation comes from viewing shapes or patterns. And so when parents are standing up in front of the church dedicating their child to the Lord, I often wonder if the parents will commit their lives to a pattern in their home that best imitates the pattern of Jesus Christ. Will they show love, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control, and the many other important patterns for their child to follow? And most importantly, will they model a great marriage?

Wouldn't it be great for our children to identify which spiritual elements our from Christ and which ones are from the world? Well, in many ways, they will only know this if the parent best model the pattern of Christ.

"I think that's exactly what you do."

I was so moved by this homemade video by Francis Chan, Pastor of Cornerstone Church in California. What do our sons and daughters see in us as both dad and pastor? Certainly, our children do watch us closesly - and as you will see, do a pretty darn good job of imitating us as well!

Quit Stewing and Start Doing

Do you have a bad bout of the grumbles? Are you finding yourself a bit cynical towards life? Is it effecting your every day decisions and how you approach others? If you're human, you've probably gone through seasons of life in which your complaint switch is on. You might be in that season right now. To make matters worse, you turn in your Bible for help and your eyes glance down on this verse, "Do everything without grumbling or complaining..." (Philippians 2:14). Pow - added guilt.

Okay...I'm going to address this situation straight on with you. I find that way too many people who grumble and complain stay on this track, unnecessarily, too long. It is truly stewing without doing. Some of what we complain about we can't do anything about (rain, cold weather, illness, etc.). And yet there are other things that we do have control over and the Bible says that instead of complaining about these things that we should become actively involved in the solution. In other words, we should quit stewing and start doing.

I know people who don't attend church because they complain about this or that (music too loud or too soft, message too long or too short, too many people talk to me or not enough people talk to me, etc.). The complaining doesn't change - but the stories do. When complaining last longer than it should, it is important to seek out help or counseling from someone you trust. You don't want it to become habitual. From my own experience, when I get into a rut of complaining, it becomes more addictive - and more intense.

Okay...so if this is you today, you're going to need to put on your big boy or big girl pants and face this challenge head on. Nobody will do it for you. You may need to make a call to a friend and have lunch with that someone who can assist you in putting your stewing into doing.

And of course, I want to pray for you. Certainly, you can't be having fun in life. My prayer is that the enemey (Devil) will not gain a foothold on you - but that you will break free and find a peace that surpasses all human understanding.

Animal lover? This dog story will preach...

Every so often a bizarre story grabs my attention. Such is the case for this story about a plucky pooch that was separated from her owners when she fell overboard in choppy waters, but swam five miles to an island, surviving on a diet of wild goats for four months until miraculously being reunited with her family.

“She surprised us all,” ecstatic owner Jan Griffith told the National Australian Associated Press News Agency. “She was a house dog and look what’s she done, she’s swum over five nautical miles, she’s managed to live off the land all on her own by eating wild goats. We wish she could talk, we really do.”

I'm not going to lie. My first thought after reading this story was - "That will preach." It's a story of transformation.

In the book of Acts the Bible records an amazing example of this transformation among the first Christians who were gathered together to begin the routine of their day. But on this particular day, their routine would be cut short. The Bible records that suddenly each of the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit (transformed) and they began to speak in foreign languages. I don't know about you, but that's a bit different. You can't plan for this. It just happened. In a moment of time, they went from being domesticated to transformed. They no longer were of this world, but from a new island - a new kingdom - living a new way.

When we become a new creation in Christ a transformation happens like no other. It changes us from being domesticated by our earthly desires of this world, to an amazing creature that approaches life in a whole new way. We may not go from eating puppy chow to devouring wild goats, but we do go from eating off the food of our old nature to consuming a whole new passion for heavenly foods.

To learn more about this amazing dog story, click here: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/30088069?GT1=43001

Nice Coffee Surprise by Wife

My lovely wife (Terri) came through with a fun surprise the other day. Take a look:

The Health of Your Pastor

Just this past week I received (via email) an annual survey about my spiritual health as it pertains to being a pastor. The organization collecting this information is, Converge Worldwide (http://www.scene3.org/). And so I took a moment to complete this brief survey and thought - why don't I just open myself up to you all. What's there to hide, right? In doing so, you'll get a pretty good idea what makes me tick and sick. Let me just give you the first two questions out of the eight that I completed.

1. What are your biggest challenges in leading?


Feelings of inadequacy. I wonder sometimes if I'm the right messenger to move the crowd forward. I see so many other leaders doing such a great job with a host of volunteers. From time to time I will struggle like Moses did, questioning God's playbook.

Personal growth. I once read that a leader will never take his or her followers higher than where he or she is at in their own spiritual climb. How true this is. I struggle each week to grow on a personal level. I've learned to be very intentional about this. This past year I have done so much better in this area - and I can truly feel the difference. Today, I always have a book going, always reading - something to keep my mind sharp on leadership and personal growth.

Keeping my family first. What does it profit the whole church if I lose my family? Nothing. This can be difficult lesson to learn when everyone from church wants your time and you start feeling important. I've learned to build some valuable margins into my life. The benefits of this are amazing. In fact, much of this past year has been rededicating myself to this Biblical mission of protecting our family.


2. What are a few things that really annoy you in ministry?

Lack of commitment. I cannot lie. When I see Christians (Christ followers) not attending church (sleeping in), not volunteering, in and out, tossed by waves of indecision, it drives me bonkers. I once read that the greatest gift you can give those who attend church is your own presence. Why? It encourages people. But unfortunately some Christians are pretty selfish and don't really see how their absence is actually hurting someone's walk with Christ. Anywhoo...it really pushes my "annoyance button."

Plastic people. I crave authenticity. So many people are hiding, not being truthful about their circumstances, pretending like nothing is wrong. I see people who settle for good in their marriage when they can have great! I know Christians who duck and hide from being in a small group because they know that eventually they must get real. And yet, I've seen the amazing power of God through a person's brokeness.

Christians who conceal their talents. I believe our church, like most churches, have exceptional talent. We have so many men and women who have been given extraordinary gifts by God - so it, of course, drives me nuts when they are not put into use. I hear a number of Christians say something like, "Well, I'm not sure if I want to be a part of this right now, but maybe later." And yet, when they do use their gifts, I see it bless the socks off people. It makes me think, "Why do we not see them knocking down our doors to share their talents?" Much of what the church needs to be about is helping or assisting people in finding their talents and helping each person activate them.

I've Got YOU Covered

Years ago a friend of mine invited me to first row seats (on the floor) of a Timberwolves game. This, of course, is when K-G was still playing for our Timber-puppies. When we arrived at the Target Center we went through a special side door and into a small room in which a distinguished man placed a special tag around our necks. These tags permitted us to be on main floor with the professional players. Are you kidding me? Feeling extremely happy (and guilty) I turned to my friend and said, "How much do I owe you for this?" And he simply looked at me and said, "Don't worry. I've got you covered!" Those were four amazing words.

Not to get too preachy, but Easter is all about this. The word "atonement" simply means, "to cover." This is what Jesus did for us on the cross by paying for the penalty of our sins. We are now covered. The price has been paid. We have front row seats to His kingdom.

So, I'm spending some time this week reflecting on this whole concept of atonement. It is truly beginning to grow on me. And it's my hope that it will invade your heart as well. It's a GREAT TICKET!

Life can change in .6 seconds

Real simple. Never give up.

I think I watched this ten times in a row. I would be crushed if I played for the yellow team. I hope that a number of Youth Pastors were on hand and available for counseling. Ouch!

Enjoy.

How Could You Miss It?

Special thanks to, Pete Wilson, for getting this amazing clip to us.

Have you guys seen this?

It’s a clip of an experiment The Washington Post did with Joshua Bell, the world’s best violin player. They put him in a Washington DC Metro stop to work his musical magic. Would people stop and listen to the world’s best violin player who’s playing one of the world’s best violins (his violin was made in 1730 and cost $3.5 million)? To just get a ticket for a live performance would cost the average person over 500 dollars. And now, he's just playing in the Metro.

1,097 people walking past him and only a handful stop to listen. They are completely ignoring a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear this guy.

Why didn’t they stop to listen?

They were busy.They were distracted.They had something important to go to…probably a t.v. show to watch, a text message to read, a newspaper to browse. You know something ‘urgent’… something ‘important.’

They had the opportunity to pause and hear one of the world’s most amazing musicians and they opted to drown it out with the noise of their life.
This video was so convicting to me. Each and every day the God of the universe wants me to listen to Him, tune into Him, walk with Him and yet I often choose to drown Him out with the noise of the world. I’m missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

How about you? Do you struggle with this?

People in our church like to KISS

Okay...so now that I've got you here - let me explain.

As some of you know, I get the awesome privilege each week of leading a very exciting and dynamic church. Creativity is like a drug for me. The more creative - the higher I fly. And yet one of the many errors that I made early on in my ministry was to think that if our church was to be successful in growth, we must be cute and clever to bring in the masses. Now, let me add that there is nothing wrong with luring in a crowd by creative outreach methods. In fact, I think one of the biggest sins or traps that a church often falls into is the sin of boring your audience. Come on - we have the most exciting message on the planet! How can that be boring? However, what I have learned most from those that are attending each week, and what keeps them coming back, is the simplicity of the service. In other words - Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS). In the past, I would strive to pack as many creative elements into one service as possible. It was the La-la-palooza of all services! But time and time again, our best feedback from our attenders has been - "less is more." People in our church like to KISS.

I guess a person can learn a lot from a KISS.

That will preach....

Agree? Disagree?

Make it happen at home first...

Okay...time for a test for us pastors and church entrepreneurs.

If you were to ask your church board, "How would you measure my success in ministry?," what number would they place next to your name? I think we could make a case that it would be close to a 10 - maybe 8 or 9. Let's face it. We're on fire. We're turning out some awesome stuff. We're impressing the crowds with some new themes and future ideas. We have a pretty nice external glaze going for us.

Alright...time for a test for us pastors and church entrepreneurs.

If you were to ask your family, "How would you measure my success in our family?," what number would your spouse or kids place next to your name? My deepest prayer is that this number would succeed the number from your church board. In reality, if it is lower, you have missed the mark of what your calling is to be about. This is not to say that we cannot have impact in our culture while our family suffers at home. Certainly, good things can and will happen by our giftedness in ministry. However, we can no longer excuse ourselves from our Biblical and moral obligation to our home (family) by overriding it with church success. I believe it is a silent killer for many pastors today. As rightly noted by Casting Crowns, "It's a slow fade..." Eventually, it will catch up with you.

So - are you ready to take the test? More importantly, are you ready for the answer?