Big Is The New Small

Last Night was amazing; we had every single LifeChurch.tv staff member from around the country and their spouses together for dinner and fellowship.  I am so blessed to be a part of the work that God is doing through LifeChurch.tv.   Our keynote speaker was Perry Noble; who is the Senior Pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson south Carolina.  Perry is an absolute nut, in a good way.  He had us laughing and challenged all at the same time.  There was a question that Perry asked, to be sarcastic; however it was a powerful reminder.  Here it is:

“Does Billy Graham have a quiet time?” 

Do you have a daily quiet time, with just you and God? Seriously!

Here is a stat to gnaw on: Only 5% of Christian couples pray together!

Thakful 4 (of 4)

Thank You Jesus for………………………………….Amen!

We are on our way to Houston and here is what I think is on the Menu:

• Turkey
• Dressing
• Gravy
• Ham (Me and the boys don’t eat pork)
• Ribs (Me and the boys don’t eat pork)
• Brisket
• Green Beans
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Ambrosia Salad
• Mashed Potatoes
• Candied Yams
• Cranberry Sauce
• Broccoli and Rice Casserole
• Rolls
• Pecan Pie
• Sweet Potato Pie
• Cranberry Apple Pecan Pie
• German Chocolate Cake
• Cherry Cheese Pie
• Strawberry Cake
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake
• Lemon Streusel Cake
• Football
• Nap
• I know that I am missing some stuff!

What’s on your menu?

God Bless You and Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful 2 (of 4) 

I am thankful that we have a forgiving God because many times as Christians we can be judgmental, hypocritical, self-centered, shallow and just plain stupid and we want life to be all about us and our style of worship, our style of music, our style of dress, as a matter of fact we think that we have defined the word style, we really have so much to be thankful for however; we only express it on holidays, birthdays, when someone is ill, or out of convenience and did I mention that we only give money to the panhandler out of guilt and that we go on the mission trip so that we can get attaboys for what we did, and we make excuses for not spending quality time with our family and kids, why don’t we realize how big God is and live our lives appreciating and respecting his omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence, wow wouldn’t our lives and this world be a different place; unfortunately we reduce God down to the size of the little cross that we wear around our neck, and we only wear that cross to let others know that we are a part of the family, even though many times we don’t act like we are part of the family, I am thankful that although we often times make God want to spit, HE loves us, His Grace is sufficient and I am oh so thankful, Are You? THANK YOU JESUS!

Thankful 1 (of 4)

As I have been reflecting on the Thanksgiving Season and all that I have to be thankful for; I was taken back to a time when “I Spent the Night in Jail.”  While I was the Administrator/Warden of a correctional institution, I decided to put on an orange jumpsuit and stay the night.  I know that it was not totally the norm; however I asked the officers to operate everything as though I was a regular inmate.

I understood that I might not have had the same fears as all of the other inmates; however I processed my stay through the lenses of “What If!”

• What If, I didn’t have a beautiful wife to wake up to?

• What If, I didn’t have the freedom to make a living?

• What If, I didn’t have the freedom to break bread w/ friends and family?

• What If, I didn’t have technology, books, cars, food… at my disposal?

• What If, I couldn’t say “I Love You” to my wife, my sons…?

• What If, What If, What If…..?

We live in the most blessed country in the World, serve the most amazing God, and have so much to be thankful for……  What If, we lived as though we believed it?

What if we shared Christ’s love as though we were not promised tomorrow, “WHAT IF?”  Share your thoughts!

I don’t know what it is about Target, but they have me really paying attention to the intentionality of their customer service.  I enjoy strolling through the store and as I am rolling around I get the opportunity to receive a free customer service seminar.  I know the Target staff probably thinks that I am crazy; as I am walking around snapping pictures w/ my phone.  Here is my latest photo; Target has these little red phones all around the store.  Notice the sign above and next to the phone doesn’t have information but rather asks 3 questions.  The questions are:

• Need Assistance?
• Can’t find it?
• Can’t lift it?

That sign just purely simple and customer perfect customer service sense.  I am going to paraphrase for what I believe target is really saying.  “We are not going to waste money and have a bunch of extra employees running around to bother you; however if you need help, no matter the need you can call on us. We are just a red phone call way.” Just think about those three questions that Target asks and imagine Jesus asking those same three questions, with the addition of one response.

• Need Assistance?

• Can’t find it?
• Can’t lift it?
• Call on Me!

  Unfortunately, more often times than not, our signs look something like this:

• Need Assistance?  ~~Let me check my schedule!  

• Can’t lift it?  ~~Don’t look at me, I can’t lift it either!

• Can’t dress up?   ~~Let me find you a church where you can dress down!

What does the sign look like and what are the questions/responses for your personal life, business or ministry?  Share your thoughts!

Yesterday we talked about, “It’s All About the Numbers” and there were some great comments and feedback.  My man David Turner wrote the following comment: “Many people don’t invite because they aren’t really plugged in themselves.  When you catch the vision of what God is doing at your church, you are more motivated to extend an invitation.”  The getting plugged in and catching the vision is critical; once you get individuals through the doors.  Some of the important areas to “get plugged into” include but are not limited to:

• Biblical Community, Small Groups
• Serving within the local church
• Giving cheerfully of money and resources
• Serving within the community
• To “Go” on missions and “Be” a missionary
• Go into all the world and share Christ’s Love

We must understand that each of these things happen at different rates, for different people and I think it’s OK to be patient.  It is equally as important to understand that we will not have the opportunity to do many of the above, if we don’t get people through the doors.  If we succeed at getting people catch the vision and get plugged in, then we are able to lead them to “GO” in to “All The World.”  Last time I checked evangelism was defined as: a zealous enthusiasm for a cause.  I can’t think of a more important cause to have a zeal and enthusiasm for, than leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ, which more times than not will happen through God’s chosen vessel “The Church.”  Remember that every number represents a name of an individual who will have the opportunity to be confronted with the Gospel.  If we do our part to get those numbers through the doors, God will change their lives.  Aren’t we talking about eternal life and eternal death?   

Should every weekend be a “Bring A Friend” weekend, and is your church “All About The Numbers?”  What are some other positives/negatives about being “All About The Numbers?”  Share Your Thoughts!

My heart aches for all of people who come in my office with struggling marriages, addictions, illnesses, “it’s all about me disease”…..   In addition to all of these struggles my heart also aches for those individuals who attend our campus and churches around the world with the consumerism mindset.  They are missing out on experiencing what it really means to be a Christ Follower.  I want to see people plugged-in to the important experiences of being in a LifeGroup, serving, missions, giving, getting outside of our four walls and sharing Christ’s love.…..

This past weekend I used the analogy of a “Team” to illustrate the need for everyone at our campus and for that matter churches around the world to get “plugged-in.” I stated that “For those of us who consider ourselves to be a part of God’s Team; we are the only team in the world where more people want to be on the sidelines, rather than in the game. If a coach continually asked/encouraged you to get in the game and you responded by saying I am just fine sitting on the bench, watching the game, enjoying the music, consuming, eating donuts and drinking water. The coach would probably ask, DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS TEAM?”   If those of us Christians “God’s Team” around the world would spend less time complaining, arguing over denominational differences, analyzing others’ style….. and spent more time giving of ourselves and loving; the world would be a different place.  GET YOUR BEHIND OFF THE SIDELINES!  Get in the game!

What are your thoughts on consumerism?  Share your thoughts!

NAME DROPPING

We live in a culture that loves to “drop names.”  I am primarily referring to those social settings in which we meet someone and will generally ask them “do you know so and so?  Or, we let them know that we know so and so.”   The whole purpose of name dropping is to acknowledge that there is some sort of familiarity with experiences and people.  I know that I definitely do this all the time, for instance; if someone tells me that they go to “Peoples Church” I would say, “I know your pastor Herbert Cooper, he’s a great guy…..”  That person and I now have a different level common experience and relational connection.  Often times we think of “name dropping” as some sort of “brown-nosing” negative type of behavior; however I would argue the contrary.   

I think a great reflection for the history of name dropping can be traced back to Jesus and the Disciples.  Jesus would send the Disciples out on “Kingdom Business” in his name, so the Disciples would show up to handle some business and drop Jesus’ name.  Now that’s some serious name dropping, you meet someone and after talking for a while you “Name Drop” the name that is above all others, the powerful name of Jesus.  That creates a distinctive relational connection of familiarity and experience. 

When was the last time you “Name Dropped” Jesus’ name?  Should we drop His name more often? Share your thoughts!

I had run across this sign while driving through a neighborhood that I was not totally familiar with.  This sign represents the exact crossroads that each of us face in our daily lives.  The question is what do we do when we approach this Dead End sign?  Do we accept the Dead End, No Outlet as an absolute truth or do we read the sign in a totally different way?  My wife has a Garmin GPS Navigation System in her vehicle to help her locate various client homes that she has to visit each and every day.  She is a Child Welfare Specialist for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.  Man does she have a challenging/fulfilling job….that is another blog within itself.  Anyway back to her GPS, the beauty of the navigation system is that when she reaches a “Dead End, No Outlet” the lady simply says “Re-calculating” and re-calculates the route.  As long as my wife knows her destination, it does not matter how many wrong turns she makes the navigation system will re-calculate until she reaches her proper destination.  This story sounds like the journey of a Christ follower.  As we commit to follow Christ, grow in our relationship with Christ, and our destination is a life that truly honors what Christ teaches, we will never read the “Dead End, No Outlet” sign as an absolute.  Are you accepting those “Dead End, No Outlets” as absolutes, or do you truly recognize those as signs that God is “Re-calculating?”    

Christians make me sick when they are judgmental, hypocritical, self-centered, weird and just plain stupid.  You know the ones who think it’s all about them, their style of worship, their style of music and their style of dress.   They only want to hang out with people who look like them, people who act like them and people who have the same supercilious attitude they have.  Heaven forbid them being willing interact with prostitutes, addicts, homeless, poor and individuals whom are of “The World.”  Do you know some Christians who make you sick?  Are you sometimes that Christian that makes yourself sick?  Personally, I am sometimes that Christian who makes myself sick; however I try to be that Christian that honors what Christ teaches, which is the antithesis of everything I have discussed.  Here are a couple of thoughts and questions to ponder:

·        When was the last time you had a conversation with someone who was poor, homeless, drug-addicted and “Of the World?”

·        When was the last time that you or your church contributed your time or money towards doing something significant for a needy part of your community?

·        When you go to church is it all about what you can get, or is it about what you can give?

·        Does the term “SeekerChurch” seem weird or refer to someonelse’s ministry and not yours?

·        Have you shared your faith with someone today or this week? 

It’s time to get sick and tired of sick and tired Christians.  However, at the end of the day we must pray that God will change their hearts.