We're taking this thing to a Whole Nutha Level!

This will be last post on the blog formerly known as Real Life Leaders.

From now on, you can join the revolution at OhioValleyRevolution.blogspot.com

See ya there!

Tonight I had the privilege of listening to a friend of mine give message at a local ministry event. His message was all about "FAITH". As part of the faith message, he used a baseball analogy that really caused me to stop and think for a moment. The analogy went something like this,"in baseball, there a several ways to strike out at bat" and he began to describe the possibilities, but the meat of the story surrounded the fact that worst way in the game to strike out is to let the pitcher throw the strikes right down pike, over the plate, and into the catcher's glove, without even taking a swing at the pitch. He used this image to talk about how important faith is to our calling, and really then boiled it down to risk taking. In order to hit the ball, you have to take a swing. You have to risk missing the ball and getting a strike, in order to have success at making contact with the ball. Here is where my mind starting processing things at a different level. As we swing our proverbial bat here this evening, let's look a couple of things:
1. It's by faith that we are playing in the game!
--I believe that God has a plan for people who do not have an honest relationship with Him right here in Belmont County, and I am being faithful to that vision that has been placed in front of us. Gotta have faith to step out of our comfort zone for the unchurched. "Gimme the Ball"

2. It's by faith that we swing the bat!
--I believe that all people need the saving Grace of Jesus and for that reason, I don't want any pitches to get by me without taking a risk to hit them. The stakes are too high! There are too many unchurched people that are closing there minds to Jesus because all the freakin strings we attach with religion. I am not saying take reckless swings at the ball, but we have to meet people where they are and on terms that they are familiar with.

But, as you ponder these images in your mind, let's give this faith thing some additional substance. We have the all-mighty God on our side! With 100% unconditional faith in our God, total trust that His ways are the Best ways, incomparable surrender to His desires instead of ours, and the confidence that would go along with these attributes, WE WILL hit home runs!!!! The first leap of faith is one of the hardest, but with God on our side, we can do the impossible!!

If you been at bat a few times and watched many pitches go by without a swing, or if where you are at right now, you feel the swing and misses are getting the best of you, we want to dream about "home runs" and "wins" with you! We want to desperately share Jesus with our community in a relevant way. We want to be a church for people who do not like church. We want a place of life change by and thru Jesus!! God wants us to trust in Him, with all of Heart, mind and strength--Though FAITH in HIM, he wants us to have the confidence to step up to the plate, have the riskiness to swing the bat, and the Heart and drive to knock it OUT-of-the-BALLPARK in HIS name!!

One Church...One Vision:the unchurched

So I got this message in my Facebook inbox (I've deleted last names):

Hi Jessica - I don't think we even know each other. I actually clicked on your profile to see who the nice person was that was going to take Mike's puppy. From there, I "snooped" around. Long story short, I have been trying to find a church that would work for my family. I am not interested on an "If you (fill in the blank)_________, then (and only then) will you be "good", "saved", etc. Something tells me you might be the person to ask about something out there that is a little different, and more accepting, positive, real, etc. If you'd like to share, I'd love to listen. Thanks so much, Amy

I wrote back to Amy and hopefully we can get together soon.

We've been asking God to move in BIG WAYS in Belmont County and He certainly is! People are hungry, restless.

Pray for Amy and her family.

Pray for our team.

Pray for Belmont County.

Amen!

From TheDailyVerse.com:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven... Ecclesiastes 3:1

Change is going to happen. You can count on it like you can count on summer turning into autumn, autumn turning into winter, and so on. There is a divine purpose for change - it is necessary to prepare for the next season. Instead of spending your energy reacting to the changes that are bound to come, start considering how you can spend that energy embracing those changes and living them out to the fullest.

"I want a church that my children can understand and enjoy going to."

That was facebook chat from an old high school chum.

An old high school chum who is surrounded by churches in St. C., but NOT ONE that is applicable to her and her childrens' lives.

You hang on, baby!

It's coming!

Let's do this thing!

from Perry Noble's blog:
*part of a series-visit his blog on our links

My fourth hill: the hill of fear.
I have a philosophy when it comes to leadership and it is that God will allow us to go through fearful situations in order for us to renew our passion and desperation for Him!
One of the most ridiculous prayers that a leader or anyone can pray for that matter is God please take the fear away from me. A leader isn’t one who leads when everything is good. A leader is one who can face fear and still believe that God is completely sovereign.
I’ve spent most of my life as a church planter in fear.
I was scared to plant the church wondering every week are people going to show up (by the way, I still wonder that every single week).
I was scared when we went to one service to two services in the Sullivan Building at Anderson University thinking people were not going to come.
I was scared when I felt the Lord tell us to move from the 150 seat facility on the campus of Anderson to the 1,100 seat facility.
I was scared when God told us to build the facility we are currently in on our Anderson Campus.
I was scared when God told us to launch a church in Greenville.
I was scared when God told us to launch a church in Florence.
I was scared when God told us to build a Children’s and Youth Facility on the Anderson campus.
I have been scared as a leader most of the time and I am so thankful because if I were not scared then that would result in pride and arrogance. I know that I cannot do a thing unless God moves and interacts and my prayer for me is that I will always be willing to face my fears and know that God is in complete control.

****************************************************

MY THOUGHTS:
One of the things I have been letting hold me back in ministry recently is this very subject! What if I step out and fail..........What if I step up and realize that I am not good enough...........What if I can't take the heat when it comes, and I know it will come............

Leaders that cares about the unchurched, truly and passionately care for the unchurched, will continually meet with these questions--AND you know who it most often is responsible for bring these questions to your mind? It is the other "churched" people around you.

They will question your passion to provide an environment that might make the unchurched more comfortable with the Sunday morning experience.

They will question your vision that God has placed on your heart to have a church that does not put personal desires in front of the unchurched.

Don't even get me started when it comes to the music that we play as part of the worship experience!!!

It often times becomes a mountain of doubt and fear when you constantly feel the "buttons" on the back or your head (Mark Hall from Casting Crowns-story) being pushed, especially when it comes from Christians who really don't understand your passion. I have learned alot in past months that I MUST face these fears, like Perry is talking about, head on and asking God for strength, endurance, and the will to keep the vision. A vision where ALL people are loved equally- the good, the bad and the ugly-ones that got it goin on and the ones that don't even have a clue!!

therevolutionproject is obsessed with making Jesus and His Love for all of us, our #1 vision. We believe that His Grace and Love is available for all and that we as "Christians" got to get our freakin selfish desires out of the way and be obsessively passionate about getting our hearts lined up with Gods desires!!! Listen now, it is truly not about what "Christians" want or like........
*not the music
*not the church environment
*not the lighting
*not the "buffet" of food in the foyer
*etc, etc, etc

It has to be about what makes a person or persons open to hearing about the Grace and Love that Christ offers them, AND it's about us "Christians" believing that the people who do not have a relationship with Jesus are the most important thing to us. I know that they are to God!

Fear can not be an option! There's too much at stake. Let's have short prayer together:
God, please help us meet the fears facing us, "head-on". Father help us learn from our fearful experiences and make us even more passionate about the things that BREAK YOUR HEART.
Amen.
**One Church...One Vision: the unchurched**

From Steven Furtick: That can’t happen
One of the sayings we used to employ around here is: That can’t happen.

Battery in a handheld died during announcements? That can’t happen.
Audio on a video didn’t fire on cue? That can’t happen.
Staff member showed up late for a meeting? That can’t happen.

We don’t use the phrase quite as much these days. Because fact is: That can’t happen does happen. Inevitably. Inconveniently. In recurring patterns.

So what do you do when that happens? Here are a few suggestions:

Force accountability for the mistake. In our weekly production meeting, there’s a section called hits and misses. Under misses, everything that went wrong on Sunday is listed and scanned by the entire group. We don’t discuss the majority of the items, but requiring that they be listed and acknowledged is a step toward ensuring that it won’t happen next time.

Diagnosis systems-not symptoms. Don’t settle for: “Jeff forgot to change the battery…I yelled at him”as an acceptable explanation for the mistake. Cause Jeff might not be the one to change the battery next time. What’s the system to make sure the batteries get changed? Is it a good one? If so, why was it violated? What have you done to prevent it from happening again-not just next week-but 6 months from now?

If that keeps happening, either change the standard or change the personnel. Otherwise, you’re sending a message: that really can happen-it’s no big deal.

Mistakes aren’t fatal. Apathy is.

Wow! Now THAT'S a Standard of Excellence!

I just got a piece of mail. It's from a wonderful local organization that is putting together a day of events for kids that are going back to school. They are going to literally GIVE AWAY over 1000 backpacks, school supplies, hair cuts, dental demonstrations, medical screenings, and other services. They call it a "Back To School Kids Fair". They do this so kids can return to school with the tools that they need to be successful. They're going to TEACH these kids how to be healthy and how to keep their teeth healthy as they give away medical and dental care to those who can't afford to see a doctor or dentist.

The letter starts out, "Do you remember the excitement of returning to school with your new backpack and assortment of school supplies? For many children in this county, new backpacks and supplies are out of their reach." It's a GREAT letter and a GREAT event. But you know what? It ANGERS me and BREAKS my heart all at the same time. You know why? Because I want to know where the CHURCH is and why there isn't a CHURCH that is having a back to school fair for kids that can't afford the tools that they need to be successful in life. I am BROKEN because it's the CHURCH's job to make sure that kids have what they need to be successful and it is FAILING and because it is failing, other secular organizations have to step up to the plate. And you know what? When those kids that go to that fair grow up and want to be a part of something bigger than themself, they will go be a part of a secular organization that meets kids needs instead of becoming a part of the church that is SUPPOSED to meet people's needs. The church is losing ground and losing more and more credibility every day that we fail these kids and their families.

If THE CHURCH simply MET PEOPLE'S NEEDS instead of sitting in their pews/seats and judging their community and arguing over the color of the carpet they would AUTOMATICALLY gain credibility with people. The problem is not that people aren't interested in Christ today. The problem is that the body of Christ (the CHURCH) is no longer appealing because we have made it ugly by our judgement and lack of love for our neighbors. No wonder most of the people around me don't go to church. If I didn't know Jesus already, I probably wouldn't want to be a part of the church either. The problem is, every kid that a secular organization helps become successful is one that the church failed and lost the opportunity to share the love of Christ. It makes me down right angry...and it breaks my heart...all at the same time.

From Mark Batterson:

When it comes to leadership, half the battle is an uncompromising commitment to do it big and do it right. Come hell or high water, great leaders don't settle for anything less than their best effort. They are relentless. In many ways, great leadership boils down to this: you do whatever it takes to make the dream become a reality. You settle for nothing else. You settle for nothing less.

Thanks, Mark!

From You Can Know God:
Thinking out loud about some of the things I’m learning about leadership. Today…here’s some thoughts on vision.

• People will not buy into a vision that they do not understand. But if they understand the WHY, then will often jump in with both feet.
• It’s virtually impossible to over communicate the vision. We must keep telling (and showing) people the WHY behind the WHAT.
• Casting the vision doesn’t always mean it’s understood. We need to ask follow up questions to make sure people are on the same page.
• Sometimes, people get disgruntled or don’t act the way you want them to act, because they don’t understand
• The more confusing the concept, the smaller the meeting needs to be. If I’m talking about something really intense, I need to process it through small groups first…not the entire church all at once.
• When it comes to making decisions about vision, ask if the PRICE is worth the PRIZE? When we were talking about doing the Egg Drop, I decided that the PRIZE of connecting 300+ OLC volunteers to a community event was PRIZE enough, even if it cost us a little money.
• It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” - Walt Disney
• Everybody says it, but it’s absolutely true. Vision leaks over time. We have to keep reminding people.
• It’s better to illustrate the vision than to describe it. SHOW people what it looks like.
• A phrase I’m learning to use more and more in discussions is “So, just to be clear…”
• Vision cannot be imported. If you borrow your mission and vision statements from other churches, you’re trying to import your vision.
• Be ruthless about the vision, and don’t change it just because someone doesn’t like it or quits giving money to it. (My Favorite!)
• Vision is what leads the leaders.

Yea Baby!

My turn to post from Perry Noble...

Four Leadership Myths That Aren’t Usually Talked About–Part One
In this series of posts I completely understand that I will really tick some people off…but I feel like some people will be set free. Understand this before you begin reading…God doesn’t use people pleasing pastors to accomplish His purposes! He uses men SOLD OUT to Him…and His call, which means there are times HARD things must be said and done.

Here we go…
Myth #1 – Anger Is Ungodly
Have you ever been told after a message, “You seemed mad today? You should really try to be more kind?”
Believe it or not—that’s been said to me a time or two.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this and came to the following conclusion…if a pastor isn’t pissed about something…he probably doesn’t preach/lead from passion and conviction, but rather from convenience and apathy.

Every leader that did something significant in the Scriptures was ANGRY about something…
Moses was angry about his people being enslaved.
David was angry about Goliath.
Jesus and Paul were angry about religious people.

But the one who sticks out to me on this point is Nehemiah!

In Nehemiah 1-12 we see a man completely sold out to a vision. He risked his life for the vision in chapter one, fought his critics and enemies, dealt with leadership challenges and poured his heart, soul and his money into seeing the vision God placed inside of him come true.

He then honored his word and went back to see the king…then returned to Jerusalem in Nehemiah 13 to see what he had fought so hard for fall completely apart…

And he was pissed!

He SERIOUSLY did things that probably caused the bloggers to go nuts!
In Nehemiah 13:7-9 he literally cleaned out a dudes “office” by throwing things out in the street.
In Nehemiah 13:10-11 he rebuked the leaders for not carrying out the vision.
In Nehemiah 13:15-22 he literally threatened to beat the crap out of people who were threatening the vision.
In Nehemiah 13:23-25 he lost it and DID beat some people up!
In Nehemiah 13:28 he fired a guy pretty forcefully!
Nehemiah was ANGRY…godly anger! He was full of passion…godly passion. He did some things that would be considered unorthodox in today’s world…and yet there is not one single Scripture rebuking him for how he acted.

As a leader there have been things I’ve had to apologize for…but I will NEVER apologize for passion…ever.

MAYBE that’s one of the problems in church world today—there aren’t enough leaders who will FIGHT for what they believe in. The early church leaders were willing to sacrifice their lives…unfortunately many leaders today won’t even sacrifice a paper cut!

People full of passion are used by God to accomplish His purposes. Apathy is absent in heaven…it should be absent in the church and her leaders!!! A leader should always be willing to repent from ungodly anger…but NEVER for being angry because the God given vision is being polluted or diluted.

Well, well. Read that last line again. "A leader should NEVER repent for being angry because the God given vision is being polluted or diluted."

Belmont County is STILL in need of a church that values unchurched people more than religious people.

Belmont County is STILL in need of a church that is willing to set the preferences of Christians aside in order to reach those who don't yet know Jesus.

Belmont County is STILL too full of churches who are willing to tell the unchurched people of Belmont County to "Go to Hell" (LITERALLY) because they are afraid they'll get too big ("I won't know everyone's name") or because they feel more compelled to display their "acts of holiness" (read "weirdness" if you are unchurched) than they are compelled to not freak out their unchurched neighbor.

And THAT makes me VERY angry. And I will not repent!

Sometimes We Have to Face Our Fears
by : Perry Noble

God taught me yet another lesson through my little girl during the recent snow storm we had here in the upstate - There are times when He will place us right in the middle of what we fear the most to prove to us HIS power and also to show us that, many times, what we are fearing should not be feared at all.
Let me explain…
Lucretia got Charisse dressed the morning after it snowed and I took her outside. She had a very confused look on her face while I tried to explain to her it was snow.
We stepped out in the yard and I put her down in the snow…she FREAKED OUT! Seriously, it was a complete meltdown…she was scared out of her mind because I had placed her in an environment with which she was not familiar…and it made her VERY uncomfortable.
SO…I scooped her up and gave her a huge hug, told her it would be alright and then walked around in the snow holding her.
She was fine as long as I held her…so…I decided to try to put her down again…and she began freaking out before her feet ever touched the ground!
I tried reasoning with her. I explained to her that the snow would not hurt her. I told her I would be right there with her…but none of that brought her any level of comfort…she didn’t want to get in the snow.
After about 10 minutes I decided that she had to get over her fears. (I didn’t want us to have the kid that pee’d her pants every time i snowed and refused to go outside!) I knew the snow would not hurt her…I knew I would be right there with her…and I knew the ONLY way for her to get past this was to face her fear head on.
SO…I put her down in the snow, took five steps and then turned around and looked at her.
Yes, she cried. Yes, my heart was hurting to see her cry…but I told her, “Charisse, walk to daddy.” She proceeded to hold out her arms to me…but me picking her up would not have helped her get past something that didn’t need to hold her captive.
So…I said once again, “Charisse, walk to daddy–there is nothing to be afraid of.”
All of a sudden she stopped crying, she literally just cut it off. (Isn’t it funny how kids can do that?) And then she took a step…then another…then another until she finally made it to me (to which I DID pick her up and give her a big hug.)
Afterwards she looked at me and said, “down!” (Which means please put me down!) I said, “do you want to play in the snow?” And she nodded her head yes!
For the rest of the morning she and I played in the snow and had a blast…we built a snowman, I pulled Lucretia and her on the sled…it was awesome! What once held her captive was now something she rejoiced in!BUT…it would not have been possible had I not, as her father, been willing to place her in an environment that forced her to overcome a fear that had no place having any control over her life.
I think the Lord does the same thing for HIS children.
So many times I have found myself held captive by fear…the ungodly kind. The kind of fear that paralyzes…thoughts like…
“What if I am single for the rest of my life?”
“What if I try this tithing thing and go broke?”
“What if something happens to me and I cannot provide for my family?”
“What if I go on this mission trip and something bad happens to me?”
“What if I write this blog post and people take shots at me?”
“What if I preach this sermon and people get mad and leave?”
“What if I make this highly unpopular leadership decision and cause a great degree of uncomfortability?”
You see where I am going, right? We’ve all allowed fear (the wrong kind) to control us to the point to where we beg God to pick us up and make all of the bad stuff go away.
BUT…I believe that many times Jesus puts us right in the middle of the situation we fear the most to prove His power, His faithfulness and to remind us that we are to fear HIM above anyone and anything.
I have learned that when a situation keeps reoccuring in my life that causes me fear and makes me uncomfortable…it is my Heavenly Father placing me in the middle of that fear to help me overcome it. AND…He will keep doing so until I choose to trust Him rather than fear my circumstances.
He’s faithful…and if you are fearful just remember…He’s right there, drawing you to Himself and trying to teach you that by keeping your eyes on Him…there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

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In life, and especially though our spiritual life, this absolutely repeats itself. Just when we believe in our hearts that we kinda have this "God thing" figured out, we realize all to often' that we are nothing in comparison to God and his plan. Sometimes these seasons of revelation, are blips in time. Others are major events that will speak directly to our heart............that is, if we are willing to be open to God's pleasure........willing to be uncomfortable........willing to surrender. Stepping out in faith is essential for any leader, and for anyone wanting to share the message of Jesus. That initial step may seem insurmountable, but the act of following God's will and call for yourself, will SET YOU FREE. The church, now more than ever, has to follow what breaks God's heart. When we are placed in a situation that is unfamiliar and uncomfortable, remember that you must embrace change, act on faith and live for what's on God's heart.

From Steven Furtick's blog:
They can’t stop you
You probably remember the occasion when Gamaliel told the Sanhedrin to leave the disciples alone because:
“If their purpose or activity is of human origin it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”Acts. 5:38-39

If you are doing the work of God for the purposes of God in the power of God, you’re unstoppable too. Just like the early church. Just like Jesus Christ.

I don’t remember where I first heard this little quote, but it has enlivened me on many tough days (it’s even posted in one of my assistants’ office):

When I want what God wants for the reasons God wants it, I’m unbeatable and unstoppable.

Receive that today. Breathe it in. Then walk it out.

Maybe you’re a pastor squaring up with a carnal deacon board, trying to pursue a God given vision in the face of tremendous scrutiny and opposition. Stay on the wall, Nehemiah. That deacon board can’t stop you. God is fighting for you! Dream, implement, preach, evangelize, cast vision.

It will come to pass.

Maybe you’re a parent trying to instill godly values into your child, and they’re putting up a hell of a fight every step of the way. Remember, your child isn’t fighting against you. According to Gamaliel, they’re fighting against God!

And whether they know it or not, they’ve met their match. It’s just a matter of time ‘til He lands the knockout blow.

Keep training, encouraging, correcting, disciplining, praising, mentoring, sowing. It will produce a harvest.

If God is for you, who can be against you.

http://www.driveinternational.org

DRIVE-IN is a series of live Web events featuring Andy Stanley created for international church leaders. DRIVE-IN explores the foundational philosophy and principles that guided the leadership of North Point Community Church in creating irresistible, relevant environments that continue to attract people who don’t like church.

Urgent personal finance advice from Seth Godin:

If I could only share one piece of personal finance advice to grads or to just about anyone, it would be this:

Only borrow money to pay for things that increase in value.

It's a short list: your business, your house and your education, mostly. Stocks if you're smarter than me. That's pretty much it.

If you have credit card debt, you're in big trouble. Your bank account has a huge leak in it, and it's getting worse. Hence the urgency.

If you have credit card debt, that means that every time you spend money (even cash), you're borrowing money to do so. And so, if you're going out to dinner or buying a new pair of shoes, you've just broken the single most important rule of personal finance. You're spending borrowed money on stuff that is decreasing in value.

This is an emergency. It's an emergency because every single day you wait, the problem gets worse. A lot worse.

My suggestion: Go to defcon 1, and do it immediately. Shift gears to live well below your means. That means:

• No restaurants
• No clothes shopping
• No cable TV bill
• No Starbucks
  

It means:

• Take in a tenant in your spare bedroom
• Carpool to work
• Skip vacation this year
  Eat brown rice and beans every night for dinner
• Act like you have virtually no income.

The result? You'll save $5,000 to $20,000 a year. Send all of it to the credit card company. Do this until you're debt free, the faster the better.

There. Now you're rich. Now you get interest on your savings instead of paying the bank. Twenty years from now, this emergency action will translate into perhaps a million dollars in the bank, depending on how much you earn and how serious you are.

You can thank me then.

From Geaorge Ambler:

“Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them.” - Robert Jarvik

Leaders pioneer and initiate change. Leaders are not sheepwalkers and they do not follow the traditional cow paths of life. Leaders bring the future into the present. This is because leaders see what others do not, they think differently. It’s because of this that visionaries find resistance from many fronts. Consider the following…

“The flight be machines heavier than air is unpractical and insignificant, if not utterly impossible” – Simon Newcomb, an astronomer of some note, 1902
“It is an idle dream to imagine that . . . automobiles will take the place of railways in the long distance movement . . of passengers.” – American Road Congress, 1913
“The odds are now that the United States will not be able to honor the 1970 manned-lunar-landing date set by Mr. Kennedy.” – New Scientist, April 30, 1964
“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.” – Ken Olsen, president Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977

Leaders create change and are often faced with resistance and challenge. In spite of this many succeed…
(From Jess-Let's revisit a video that was posted awhile back...)

Really THINK about this. It's good stuff!

"A quick, undeveloped thought for today:
The more we have, the more we have to lose.
The less we have, the less we have to lose. The less we have to lose, the freer we are to live/minister/serve/sacrifice like we have nothing to lose.
After all, isn’t the most important thing to us something we can’t lose?"

- Scott McClellan on Collide Magazine's blog today

Great post from one of the blogs that I read daily -

Growing as a Leader
from Jenni Catron by Jenni Catron

If I know anything about leadership, it’s that it doesn’t come easy.
Yes, some people have a natural gift toward leadership, however growing and developing as a leader is hard work. It won’t just happen. A position of authority won’t miraculously make you a good leader. Being called a leader doesn’t make you a good leader. Going to leadership conferences won’t make you a good leader.

You will become a good leader when you become dedicated to being one. It has to be intentional. You have to work at, pray for and seek it EVERY day. You have to read, listen, study EVERY day.

Here are some of my suggestions for things you can do to grow as a leader EVERY day:

Make praying for leadership wisdom a part of every day
Read 30 min to an hour from a leadership book every day (including the Bible - there is great leadership stuff in there!)
Study other leaders around you and journal your observations
Find a peer who sees your leadership in action and can give you honest, candid feedback
Seek out a seasoned leader to meet with occasionally who will coach and mentor you (this could be one person or many)

The bottom line is you’ve got to work at it.

You’ve got to be a student of it.

You’ve got to be committed to it.

So let me ask you, what are you doing today to grow as a leader?

You know, for years, one of my favorite sayings has been:

"Life's too short to hang around a bunch of people who don't realize how wonderful you are."

Now, I recognize on first glance that could seem a little arrogant. But I believe that it is ABSOLUTELY true. We all vascillate from moments of vanity to moments of insecurity, depending on the situation, but I believe THIS to be true-

In general, we should surround ourselves with people who see the potential in us that we don't yet see...people who will help us stretch and grow into all God created us to be.

Unfortunately, if we aren't careful, we'll find ourselves in the opposite situation instead, surrounded by people who really don't see what we bring to the table, and never will. Then we find ourselves trying to continuously prove ourselves and justify our position, our worth, and our value. That can be a full time job.

Sometimes, you just have to step off the treadmill of trying to measure up to other people's standards. Life's too short...

Copied this quote from another blog today. I've heard it before and it ALWAYS chokes me when I read it.

“I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot . . . and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why . . . I succeed.” - Michael Jordan

I can relate to that because I was a basketball player. I've been on the losing team on the basketball court, I've been the person to miss the game winning shot. I know how that feels. It feels like failure....and it hurts. BUT...

If the opposite of failure is success, what defines success? I think success is getting back up and trying again when you fail....because if you never make that effort again, you'll always be a loser.

What do you need to get back up and try to do again even though it hurt the first time?

Crazy Love!!

We have our latest series under way....Crazy Love. Pastor Ashley started us down the road to understanding God's Love for us. Any comments on our theme song? Better keep text-voting to her cell, if you have a fav!

I have a great set planned for us this week and I hope you all enjoy it. There is a new song for us, probably at the end of the service. It is titled "No Other Name" by Todd Fields. He is an awesome worhship leader at Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta, Ga.

www.northpoint.org

Here are the songs:

Trust
Meet with Me
Amazing Love
No Other Name

Set up will be Friday night at 6pm.
Practice will be Sunday morning at 8am.

All for now.

Hey everyone,

"30 Days to Live" is now in the books and what a series!!! Great info to help us with the Life change we need to grow closer to Christ each day. Our next series is titled "Crazy Love" and it is going to be another great series that you will not want to miss.

Band Info and songs for 2/01

• Beautiful One
• Psalm 40
• All Who Are Thirsty
• More than Ever (at end of service)

Let's do one of our new songs at 10:40 to kick the service off. (How bout "No Other Name")

Set up will be Friday night at 6pm and lets get together at 8am Sunday morning for practice.

Danny's band, "Playback" will be at Chapz on Friday night also, so we are taking a continent of RLers to catch dinner there and watch the band.

From Tony Morgan's blog:

I’m growing more and more convinced that the worst thing an organization can do is try to reach a consenus about something. Think government. Think church committee meetings. Think declining big business.

On the surface, reaching a consensus seems like a positive thing because it means people have agreed to move in the same direction. That’s a good thing isn’t it?

Actually, I’m not convinced that’s the case. For example, here are 5 Reasons Why Consensus Sucks:

1. It embraces the status quo. Change, whether positive or not, is not human nature. We would prefer for things to remain the way they are today. So, when people get together to discuss the possibility of doing something a little different in the future, it’s normal for the majority to avoid making changes.
2. It gives the malcontents an equal voice in your decision. Reaching consensus gives everyone a voice at the table. When that happens, even the negative, bitter folks that don’t really embrace the vision have the opportunity to pull the rest of the group away from what could really be the most desirable outcome.
3. It short circuits the radical ideas that lead to the biggest breakthroughs. The big, bold ideas won’t see the light of day. Yet those are the ideas that could potentially lead to the best innovations. Consensus brings people back to the middle where the majority approves but mediocrity reigns.
4. It leaves unresolved conflict on the table. At the opposite ends of a decision are distinct opinions which, if left unresolved, could potentially lead to division. Consensus prevents tough conversations from happening. It gives people the freedom to jump to compromise without engaging a healthy debate.
5. It discourages people from dreaming big dreams. Want to neuter the creative-thinkers and entrepreneurs and visionaries in your organization? Force them to reach consensus with the rest of the crowd. These are the people that make you uncomfortable. They can drive you crazy. That’s OK. They’ll just go work someplace else if you keep forcing them to compromise their dreams.

What do you think? Do you agree? Or, have you actually seen consensus work? What would you add or delete from the list?

Let’s try to reach a consensus on whether or not consensus sucks.

Good evening all!

30 Days to Live has been spectacular. God is "stretching" me in a HUGE way over the past few weeks! When you begin to look at life as just a fleeting moment, or "a vapor" as Craig has been speaking, and you really focus in on what God wants for your life, you realize truly what is important. Relationships.......with family and friends.................and most importantly, with God through Jesus, become GINORMUS. We must be making the most of all of the relationships currently in our life, as well as those the we need to make, and truly MUST make, with those who do not know Jesus. Keep the faith and KNOW that you are the DIFFERENCE!


Friday night set up and BAND practice 01/23/2009
*6pm set up
*7pm test and tune
*7:15pm first chords

We will work on our 3 new songs and the set for Sunday 1/25
*Songs for Sunday

1. We Praise You Lord(capo 3/Bb)
2. Love the Lord(G)
3. In the Secret(G)
4. I Give it All to You (Rich's song)D/G
5. Trust (with slow intro, verse and chorus)(G)

*songs 4 and 5 will be at the end of the service
*Call to worship song Promptly at 10:40am Sunday (instrumental Real Life)

I love you guys and THANK YOU for all that you do!

From StevenFurtick.com:

Swatting at gnats

I heard this from an eyewitness:

An internationally famous minister recently spent some time with another well known pastor. The more experienced pastor was listening to the other guy elaborate about some things that were weighing heavily on him, keeping him up at night, stealing his focus.

After this went on for a little while, the more experienced minister looked at his friend and told him: “You’re swatting at gnats. You’re going to wreck your car swatting at gnats.”

That spoke to me. I spend too much time swatting at gnats. I expend my energy fighting battles where there are no spoils. I let worry and anxiety overwhelm me about situations that are either hypothetical, or outside of my control. I let stupid comments from stupid people occupy oh-so-valuable bandwidth in my brain. I blow my dilemmas out of proportion until they seem larger than life, and impossible to solve.

We’ve got to stop swatting at gnats. We’ve got places to go, and bigger things to do.

Sunday Jan. 04, 2009

Sunday night random thoughts:

*30 Days to Live.........WOW! What a great message and a great start on our series for January.
Here are the key points:

1. Turn "Whens/Thens" into "Nows"
2. Turn "Intentions" into "Actions"
3. Turn your whole heart to Jesus

Today's message was very powerful and extremely inspiring. Let's all make it a point to share this series and our church with a friend!

*Worship.......Wow again!!!!!! Here's the Set list for today:

1. Come, Now is the Time to Worship
2. Fields of Grace
3. Everlasting
4. More Love, More Power

-Today was one of the most awesome experiences. I am not sure that I have an explanation for you on why it was so awesome for me, but it was amazing! During "Everlasting", the church participation was like a cup overflowing!! You guys were singing your hearts out and I was loving it. God is truly AWESOME!

Thanks everyone and have a great evening!