Sunday night thoughts…

• Very interesting day at Lifesong
• During setup this morning we lost all power at the theater and really had to get creative…
• I am so proud of all the volunteers… everyone jumped in and made this morning happen.  We had to move the service to the lobby, borrow some chairs from another church (Thanks Connection Church!!!), the band had to completely change to an acoustic set, and we had to change up some of the kids environments… and it was AWESOME.
• God is a much better communicator than I am… we kicked off our Disciple series this morning and stripping everything down to the bare essentials, no lights, air, sound system or media, was a great illustration of focusing on what is REALLY important.  VERY COOL!
• As soon as the service was over, the power came back on.
• We had a great crowd today, and it was cool to have the older kids in with us today.
• Jenny (Worship Diva) was out today to celebrate her seventh anniversary… we missed you today, but it was good for her to have a break (give me more notice next time though 😉 )
• Just finished up with a volunteer training event.  We had more people here for this than were ATTENDING Lifesong eighteen months ago… VERY COOL!
• Lifesong had the greatest volunteers on the planet… no joke.
• I think we may have found out how many people our house can hold at one time… I think we will call this our South Campus 😉
• Really looking forward to heading out of town next week to a Pastors and Wives Retreat in California.  I am not complaining, but I need a break and a chance to spend some quality time with Tammy.
• I am so proud to pastor Lifesong church… the best is yet to come!

Monday morning funny…

I hate kids… 😉

Sunday night thoughts…

• Thought attendance would be down because of Memorial Day… but we held our own.
• Josh (Director of Volunteers) did an awesome job today… lots of folks out of town but he handled reshuffling everybody so well that I would never know.  Very thankful for a staff that I can trust.
• The band sounded great… Jenny and Danny’s version of “You Are So Beautiful” was better than the original… and not nearly as sweaty 😉 !
• I enjoyed this series… but I got to be honest and say that I am glad that its over (preaching to you ladies is tough).  I pray that God used this series to encourage and challenge you ladies (and your husbands).
• Thank you for being such a generous church.  Ministry takes money and giving is a sign of a healthy church.
• I am pumped about our volunteer training next Sunday @ 4 PM… if you volunteer (or want to) in any capacity at Lifesong, send an email to josh@lifesonglive.com to sign up.
• Watched some of the Indianapolis 500 today… much cooler than Nascar.  They still go around is circles but they do it with style 😉
• Somehow my blackberry went missing from my bag after the service today…  I feel VERY disconnected right now.
• Saw the new Terminator movie Friday night with several guys from the church… disappointed in the movie, but it will make a GREAT sermon illustration for our God At The Movies series coming up in a few weeks!
• Speaking of new series… We kick off Supermodel next Sunday at looks at what it takes to become a model Christ follower.
• I hope everybody has a great Memorial day and enjoys the break… see ya Sunday!

Friday five…

Things I am wrestling with right now….

1. Are we (Lifesong church) producing DISCIPLES and seeing people takes STEPS in their relationship with Christ or are we creating just a “cool” environment?
2. What do I need to be doing to grow as a leader?  Am I willing to do it?
3. What do we need to do to give people the bast chance to CONNECT in meaningful relationships?
4. Are we making a difference in our community?  A difference that will lead to KINGDOM impact?
5. How many of the people that call Lifesong home are completely sold out to the VISION?  How many are willing to SACRIFICE to see it accomplished?

I think that as the lead pastor of Lifesong church, it is important to ask hard questions and honestly evaluate how we are doing.  This is NOT done in REACTION to bad times (things are going pretty well) but to ensure that we never become complacent or delusional.

Sunday night thoughts…

• Just wasn’t quite “there” today, can’t put my finger on it… although it was pointed out to me that we were in the “Angels and Demons” theater, pretty appropriate.
• I was having a very difficult time focusing today and I dropped the ball delivering the message… it was my fault and it will not happen again.
• WOW… the children’s environments looked INCREDIBLE today.  Boats, fish, bubble machines, ocean sounds, tiki huts… VERY COOL!
• I am diggin’ the bands version of “Revelation Song.”  Got to be honest and say that I didn’t like the song when I first heard it, but I trusted Jenny and the band to pull it off.
• Looking forward to our volunteer training on the 31st.  If you help IN ANY WAY at Lifesong we want you there!  Email josh@lifesonglive.com and let him know you will be there.
• Got to see Star Trek on Friday… movie – GOOD… Trekkies – NOT GOOD… Chick Trekkies – ummm, not sure words can describe 😉

Pain…

“It is doubtful that God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.” A.W.  Tozer

One of the biggest challenges I face as a leader is doing the right thing when no one else knows.

A few years back, while sitting in a “business meeting” (remember those 😉 ), my character and motives were attacked.  Tempers flared, harsh words were spoken and a dream died.  It took EVERYTHING within me to not defend myself… to lash back… but a LEADER doesn’t do that.  Sometimes we are called to let the uninformed stay uniformed and be content that God knows the whole story.  In my situation, defending myself would have caused greater harm on the people and would have caused a church to split apart.

Over and over again in the Bible we see that God will often TEST us before He will BLESS us.  He wants to see if we will be faithful before He will give us more.  Sometimes that means enduring PUBLIC pain and criticism for God to work PRIVATELY in your life.

Sunday night thoughts…

• Good day today.  Most churches see a bump in attendance on Mothers Day, all our folks GO see their Mom’s so attendance is down a little.
• The set up went crazy good today… Josh (Director of Volunteers) is doing an awesome job with his teams.
• I am looking forward to the rest of this series… I really hope that today’s message connected with all the ladies.
• I was pretty embarrassed by the dudes today… if you were there you KNOW why 😉
• The “Man Moment” was funny.  We will have these for each of the messages.
• The band sounded incredible today… even a man down!
• Lifesong had it’s first Movie Under the Stars event for Beaverbrook Elementary on Friday night… the HUGE inflatable screen worked great and the kids enjoyed Madagascar 2… VERY COOL!
• Headed to a conference tomorrow with Greg, Josh and another pastor… PRAY for the other pastor 😉

Friday five…

Really weird, ummm stuff…

• Klingons For Christ – Nope… this is not a joke.  Hey, Klingons need Jesus too!
• Too busy to pray?  Don’t worry.  This Site will say them for you… for a minimal fee of course.
• Puppets for Jesus… sorry puppets scare me.
• Chick tracts – Truth, yes… really weird, absolutely.
• Nudists for Jesus… I didn’t put a link (you will thank me) but trust me, they are out there.

Get in the fight…

Joni Eareckson Tada was once asked how she kept going… how she could keep leading and serving despite her physical challenges.  She responded…

“This is the only time in history when I get to fight for God.  This is the only part of my eternal story when I am actually in the battle.  Once I die, I’ll be in celebration mode in a glorified body in a whole different set of circumstances.  But this is my limited window of opportunity, am I’m going to fight the good fight for all I’m worth.”

THIS is the only life we get, our ONE SHOT at following God and making an IMPACT for His Kingdom.

What are YOU waiting for?  Get in the FIGHT!

Sunday night thoughts…

• Good day today… crowd was down a little.  Glad this is the last week of Spring Break.
• One person accepted Jesus as their Savior today… VERY COOL!
• We have had a TON of guests over this last month… some even come back 😉
• Our Relay For Life event at Truett’s was awesome!  It was cool seeing so many Lifesong folks making an impact in our community, and having FUN doing it.
• Our new T-shirts look AWESOME (thanks Jason)… although the girls sizes were a “little” small, but we have ordered some nice orange shorts to go with them 😉
• We just finished up with NEXT Step (Partnership class).  I always get fired up at these things because I get to talk about the vision of Lifesong and it reminds me of how far we have come.
• Looking forward to kicking off our new series for the ladies next week.
• Guys, don’t worry we have something special panned for you too.