Two Perspectives

This weekend I heard two totally different perspectives about Charter Oak Church. One was from a relatively new member and one was from a pastor in our community.

One of our members was talking to me about the need for courageous leadership in the Church and in our denomination today. Because of some things that are happening in our annual conference right now, he is very distressed with the direction some of our leaders at the conference level appear to be taking us. He said that he wished that those leaders would have the courage to speak the truth of the gospel as it is spoken from the platform on weekends at Charter Oak Church. I was thankful that he recognized our desire to obediently teach the truth, whether it is popular or not.

Then later in the weekend I had a conversation that revealed that there is a pastor in our community that is telling people that anyone who attends Charter Oak Church is going to hell because we don't teach the Good News of Jesus Christ. This pastor has never been in our church. This pastor doesn't know Dave, Mark, or me. He just made a blanket statement about where we are theologically.

I am struck at the difference of these two perspectives. One from someone who is from within Charter Oak Church and one that is from outside. We had nearly 800 people in worship this past weekend who heard in a very clear and concise manner the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I also know what Pastor Dave is going to teach on Easter Sunday - it will be a clear presentation of the Gospel.

One person I talked to this weekend was praising God for His work at Charter Oak Church and another person is trashing the work of God at Charter Oak Church. Why can't we all work together for the building up of the Kingdom of God?

Quiet Time

My usual routine in the morning is to get into the office at least an hour to and hour and half before anyone else. This morning I was listening to Leeland while doing some leadership development work.

That quiet time for me is so valuable. As I was in that "zone" I felt a new appreciation for those times that are described in the Bible when Jesus would get away early in the morning for some quiet time with his Dad.

That quiet, alone time I have each morning gives me the passion and energy for the rest of the day. If you are a leader, I think you need to get this discipline into your schedule. Would you be willing to do something that would increase your productivity during the day by 50-100%? I'm telling you, that my quiet time adds that much more to my day.

Book #7 - Measure of a Leader

Last week I finished reading my seventh book of the year. I haven't read a book this slowly in a very long time. The author was recommended to be by my dad. He suggested another book by Aubrey Daniels, but Barnes and Noble only had this book by him. I am so glad that they did. I am already reading it a second time. There is so much good material for leadership development in this book. It's not a difficult read. There is just so much in it that carries over into the leadership of a growing church with a growing staff like at Charter Oak Church.

The quote I posted earlier has all kind of biblical applications. Think about all of the times Jesus said "you have heard it said...but I say to you..." Jesus was talking about the difference between leading with "don't do this" versus "this is the kind of lifestyle that people who are his follower live daily."

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is leading people and want to get a lot better at it.

It's All About Behavior

"The average organization's leadership emphasizes behavior that the organization doesn't want rather than those that the organization does want. Focusing on reducing errors is almost always inefficient because it takes the focus away from the behavior that is critical to the desired performance."
Measure of a Leader, Daniels & Daniels

Email & Website Down

If you are trying to get in contact with me or with anyone on staff at Charter Oak Church, you can't do it right now through email. We lost our domain name and we are trying to get it back. You will actually have to pick up the phone and give us a call if you want to get information to us or ask a question. Sorry about the inconvenience. Hopefully, we will be back on line tomorrow.

Prolific Writers

I am totally amazed by the ability of some pastors to continually publish books, articles, blogs, etc. and still lead their congregation. I have taken a 2 week break from blogging in order to be able to do some of the things asked of me around here. I had to stop writing in order to really concentrate on some very important work.

Now I am starting to write my first curriculum for an upcoming sermon series. My next series is called Intimacy: A Look Beyond the Covers. I am in the process of writing a study guide for small groups. We are going to publish it in-house and offer it to anyone in the congregation who would like to study the material along with the sermons each week.

As I am working on this project, it makes me all the more aware of what it takes to write a book. I am hoping that this small project will teach me the discipline I will need in the future to continue to write and maybe some day, I will become a prolific writer.

Accountability

I called my accountability partner yesterday to check in with him, he has a major deal that is happening in his life right now. I wanted to encourage him and let him know I am praying for him. Even though he lives in Texas, thanks to technology, we can stay close.

In just a few minutes of conversation I walked away feeling blessed and closer to God thanks to this very good friend of mine. If you don't have someone in your life that will tell you the last 10% of what is going on in your life, then you need to find one.

People are already running from the church because of the character issues of so many followers of Jesus. This is too important to put off. You are very vulnerable if you think that you could never have a failure occur in your life. That's just plain arrogant!

Find someone who truly loves Jesus and loves you so he/she will tell you what you need to hear, even when you don't want to hear it.

Thanks, Mark. You're the best!

Leadership and Servant Training - Last Night

Last night at our Leadership and Servnant Taining gathering, I shared "five fundamentals" to a vital church that will be released very soon by a United Methodist bishop as a book. We had some great discussion over these issues. I love the leaders of Charter Oak Church. They are willing to open up and tackle tough issues in a way that helps me and I believe our church to be the very best that God has to offer. Here are the five fundamentals:

1. Radical Hospitality
2. Passionate Worship
3. Intentional Faith Development
4. Risk-Taking Mission and Service
5. Extravagant Generosity

The adjectives that are used are very specific and led us to really root down to where we are here at Charter Oak Church and where it is that God is leading us into the future. It also exposed some pre-conceived ideas. It was an awesome night that added great value into my life. You guys rock!

Politics and the Pulpit

I was recently asked to sign a political petition. I had to think about what the implications were for me to put my signature on that piece of paper. I have really bad handwriting so no one would really know it was me, but I would know.

I quickly decided that I wasn't going to sign the petition. But since then I have thought a great deal about the role of a pastor in the life of the congregation when it comes to politics. I remember from my church history class in seminary of how the church pulpit was a very powerful platform for putting across a political view point. Politicians would join the "right" church so they could have the backing and influence of that church. I also remember reading about pastors who used the pulpit to put across their political agenda to their congregation. I realize that it isn't just church hisory, it still happens today.

In today's society, there is a very strong push to keep the separation of church and state far apart. However, it does seem that the African American church has a greater acceptance. Last week I saw a church pulpit used in a very powerful way by a presidential candidate.

I vote at every election - local and national. No matter how big or small, I'm there. I am just not about doing the political thing from my position of leadership in the church. I want to preach Christ crucified and his grace is enough for people like you and me. I want to help people get on to God's agenda for their lives and to live authentically into that. For me that also means that people make their own political decisions without me trying to manipulate them. Because that's what it comes down to for me - manipulation, when it comes from the pulpit.

What do you think?

Book #6 - The Deity Formerly Known as God

I just finished reading Jarrett Stevens new book The Deity Formerly Known as God. The book is a spin off of J.B Phillips book Your God Is Too Small. Stevens takes on the destructive images we place upon God in the first half of the book. Ideas like "Cop around the Corner," "Sweet Old Man," and my favorite "All-You-Can-Eat Buffet." The second half of the book is dedicated to bringing to light constructive images of God that should shape our view of God. Great topics like "Late-Night Neighbor," "Single-Minded Shepherd," and "Lord of the Boardroom."

I liked Stevens' style and the conversational tone of the book. He opens his life up to the reader and we get an inside look at the life of someone who used to be on staff at Willow Creek Community Church, but has recently moved to North Point Community Church just north of Atlanta, Georgia.

Counting and Discipline

There were two great comments left on my last post on counting people. I wrote that we count people because people matter to God. The first comment talked about measuring spiritual growth. The second comment was about keeping the counting motivation pure.

The first thing I would say is to read Jim Collins book Good to Great and the Social Sectors. What Collins writes is that non-profits, such as the church, cannot measure success the same way a business can. Businesses ultimately measure success based on how much money they make. For the church we still must measure. The measuring becomes much more difficult, so we must do it with greater discipline.

Here is where I believe most churches fail at measuring. It is easy to just count how many people are on a membership roll, how many show up for worship, and how much is given each week. All of these things are very easy to measure. Most churches stop here. They will pronounce their statistics and leave it at that. I posted the statistics for February. But I didn't do it until I posted about a woman who had the opportunity to share her faith at work. I shared in my weekly email to our leadership even more stories similar to this one.

So we count people, but we don't stop there. We have to be disciplined in how we determine success. I have growth indicators that I am tracking for our church that have numbers behind them, but even deeper than that I look behind those numbers at the people they represent. I seek to connect with those people to find out what their story is and where they are in their journey to do life with Jesus in a transformational way.

The way I try to keep counting motivation pure is to always connect the numbers with people. I can be very excited about growing by 23% in the last year, but if I'm not meeting those people and hearing their stories and the stories of the people who are inviting them, then it's just about the numbers. I don't ever want to just be about the numbers. I am all about the people behind the numbers. I want to celebrate people coming into the Kingdom. I want the people of Charter Oak Church to know that the risks they are taking on the people in their circle of influence is worth it.

The increased level of discipline then means that we aren't just counting, but ultimately looking for spiritual growth. Spiritual growth to me is people who are being obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual maturity isn't just about praying, but it's about praying when the Spirit says pray. It's about sharing your faith when the Holy Spirit opens an opportunity for a spiritual conversation with someone in your circle of influence. If I just count people, then I won't know the stories behind those people. I love it when I receive an email or a phone call from someone who "just has to tell me what just happened" when they were faithful to what God was prompting them to do.

Worship and Sunday School Stats

After publishing the attendance statistics in my last post, I thought it would be good to share with you what the year to date figures are.

2007 worship - 709 YTD
2006 worship - 573 YTD

2007 Sunday school - 264 YTD
2006 Sunday school - 236 YTD

God is at work in this place. People are learning about the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Remember, we count people because people matter to God.

February Worship at a Glance

February 3/4 - Pastor Dave preached
661 in worship (11.8% increase from 2006)
248 in Sunday school (31.9% increase from 2006)

February 10/11 - I preached
607 in worship (17.4% increase from 2006)
279 in Sunday school (16.3% increase from 2006)

February 17/18 - I preached (Snow storm)
564 in worship (4.1% increase from 2006)
255 in Sunday school (1.2% decrease from 2006)

February 24/25 - I preached (Ice storm)
631 in worship (1.8% increase from 2006)
172 in Sunday school (8.6% decrease from 2006)

Telling Your Story

This past weekend I challenged the people of Charter Oak Church to tell their story about what God has done in them and through them to the people in their circle of influence who don't have a church home. I just received an incredible email from a woman who was immediately put into a position where she could do just that. I love it when God confirms in very real ways what He has spoken through me on the weekend.

How awesome it was for this woman to have heard on Sunday morning about the times that God will give to each of us to enter into a spiritual conversation with someone who doesn't know Jesus in a transformational way, and then for it to have actually happened! I give great thanks to God that when the Holy Spirit prompted her, this woman shared her story with her co-worker. I know that God will bless that conversation, even if it is in ways that we will not fully know this side of heaven. The point is being obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Deep Thoughts

Do you remember the old Saturday Night Live segment called "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handy? I used to love those.

For those of you you check this blog from time to time to see what I am thinking about, I am sorry that I have not posted anything for the last two weeks. I have been in such an incredibly focused thinking time. I am going through a very steep learning curve right now. It's an exciting time for me as I am trying to step up my ability to do what it is that God is calling me to do at Charter Oak Church. It's also very exciting as I am learning about some things that we are going to be doing here in the future. I can't say enough times how totally awesome it is to be at this church, to be working with this staff, and to be serving with the people of Charter Oak Church!

So while all of that is going on, I have also re-read The Big Idea by Dave Ferguson. I am also in the middle of a sermon series called "The Treasure Next Door." I am trying to help the people of Charter Oak Church to see the potential in people in their circle of influence through the eyes of Jesus. And then to find a way to naturally enfold those people into the love of Jesus. It's been a great series so far, three more weeks to go.

Finally, I think I have been able to set up a one day meeting with one of my heroes for the end of May. I will have the opportunity along with Pastor Dave to learn from two great leaders at a church that is doing the right things for the right reasons. Man, I can't wait!

Book #5 - The Big Idea

I finished my fifth book of the year - The Big Idea: Focus the Message, Multiply the Impact by Dave Ferguson, Jon Ferguson, and Eric Bramlett. This is a great book for those leaders who have a bigger vision for their church and what they understand their role to be in the region. As I am being challenged to find ways to add value into the lives of other pastors in this region, this book was a must read for me.

This is a book about how to bring the Good News in a way that will have the greatest impact while working in the context of a team to accomplish even more that you could ever do alone. Since I naturally gravitate toward teams of people this book was a great read. Many of the things that Dave and his team are doing are things that I have wanted to do and have done in some small way over the last five years. This book inspired me to take it to the next level.

It's Been a While

Yes, I know it's been a while since I last posted anything. I have been off the chart busy the last two weeks, but some pretty incredible stuff has happened over that time frame.

First, I started a brand new sermon series called The Treasure Next Door. The whole point of this series is to help people to build relationships with people within their circle of influence so that they can point people to a relationship with God through Jesus.

Second, the freezing of one of our pipes in the chapel and everything that gets associated with that mess.

Third, our senior management team went to Sandscrest Conference and Retreat Center for a three day retreat where we looked at the future of Charter Oak Church. We looked forward in three time increments - six months, one year, and three years. It was a great time for me to listen to the other members of our team talk about their hopes, dreams, and goals for the future.

I had an aha moment while we were away. Our senior management team still has great passion for the people of this region. No one wanted to talk about taking a break or slowing down after our move. Instead, the list of dreams and goals were long. The really awesome thing was many of them were geared toward taking a stronger leadership role in the future. As we get bigger and bigger the senior management team will be doing less and less and empowering others to do ministry more and more. I was pumped up as I saw our team catching that vision!

Fourth, the major snow storm that hit this region shut our church down for two days.

Finally, and the worst of all because it slowed me down (the snow didn't have much effect on me, I carry my lap top and I have everything I need) was the installation of Google Desktop to my laptop. My computer went from a lean, mean processing machine to almost going backwards. I had heard so many great things about Google Desktop so I installed it. I could definitely see the advantages of it, but I couldn't take the slow speed. If anyone out there knows why this happened please let me know. As soon as I un-installed it, my computer went back to its wonderful self. Who knew?

Back in the News

We were back in the news last night. WTAE sent a news crew over to the church twice yesterday. You can read their article and watch the clip here. I still cannot for the life of me understand how they can get the details wrong. I thought it was there job to get them right.

I left this morning before the newspaper arrived. The Tribune Review was here yesterday as well. I don't know if they ran the story, but they sure took a lot of pictures.

All of this media stuff that happens so quickly and without notice, reminds me of how important clarity in communication is. I believe God gives us opportunities like these to speak authentically about what we are called to be about at Charter Oak Church. I think Cindy did a great job yesterday as our marketing/communications guru.

If someone all of a sudden threw a camera and a microphone in your face, would you be ready?

January Worship at a Glance

January 6/7 - I preached
646 in worship (12.5% increase from 2006)
278 in Sunday school (11.6% increase from 2006)

January 13/14 - Dave preached
739 in worship (21.9% increase from 2006)
316 in Sunday school (33.9% increase from 2006)

January 20/21 - Dave preached
691 in worship (21.7% increase from 2006)
302 in Sunday school (15.7% increase from 2006)

January 27/28 - Dave preached
1134 in worship (31.1% increase from 2006)
241 in Sunday school (5.7% increase from 2006)

The Big Idea

I just purchased another one of the books on my list of must reads for 2007. The Big Idea: Focus the Message - Multiply the Impact by Dave Ferguson, Jon Ferguson & Eric Bramlett.

The funny thing was I tried a couple of places that I thought would have had it - Barnes & Noble and then Border's, but neither had it. I had to go to a little Christian book store to find it. Kelli said that's what I get for trying to buy a book in person instead of on-line like normal.

I want to make sure I read this book before our Senior Management Team goes on retreat starting next Sunday afternoon.

Book #2 - Velvet Elvis

I am jumping back to book number two because of the missing pages and my waiting for Zondervan to send me a new book with all of the pages included in the book.

I would highly recommend Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell. This book will be added to my list of books that I read at least once a year. It challenged me. It inspired me. It taught me how to think differently.

Here's one of those great thought provoking moments as I read, "If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody." Think about what that means in the context of your circle of influence. Yea, I know, that could really take some time.

What I'm telling you is - get the book!

Out of Luck

This morning I was doing a little bit of shopping at Macy's department store. I was going through the check out procedure with scanning my debit card when the store's associate said that they were having some computer problems. He tried to make the transition a couple of times and then he called someone.

He said he would try one more time and if it didn't work, "I would be out of luck." Interesting comment. What he said to me was that I was lucky to be purchasing something from that store. I didn't feel so lucky. There was no apology. There was no request if I wanted to pay cash.

Have we come to the point that companies believe that we are lucky to be giving them our money? Are we in danger within the church to have this kind of mentality? Do we believe that people are lucky to get to worship with us?

I think many churches live into this mentality with the way they use language that doesn't connect to people outside or even inside the church. They do it by choosing to be traditional instead of relational. They do it by preaching boring sermons.

I also shopped at Men's Wearhouse this morning. I purchased a pair of pants that they didn't even have in the store. However, every time I have been in this store it is a relational experience. They do not have the same mentality that Macy's has. They treat me like a privileged guest. It's all in the little things that they do that sets them apart. I may have to spend more money there, but it's worth it.

As I finished paying for my pants, it would have been very easy for the sales person to hand me my receipt across the counter and for her to tell me to have a nice day, like she had done a million times before. Instead, she walked out around the counter (which was pretty big to begin with) and she handed me my receipt. It's not a huge thing, but to me that's service.

Are we in the church willing to have "walk around the counter" service for the people who walk in our doors? Are we willing to put aside the "I've done this a million times" attitude and treat each person who walks in our doors as a treasure from God?

Book #4 - The Jesus of Suburbia

I just finished reading The Jesus of Suburbia: Have We Tamed the Son of God to Fit Our Lifestyle? by Mike Erre. This is a good book for people who are just entering into the post modern discussion. Mike even admits during the Acknowledgements that he doesn't really have an original thought. If you have read anything from Rob Bell, Len Sweet, or Erwin McManus you won't really read anything all that new. That being said, Mike does do a good job of presenting a very real conversation with a pastor who admits that he doesn't have all of the answers and he is more interested in engaging the questions than coming up with the perfect response.

Our Senior Management Team will be discussing this book while we are away on our retreat later this month.

New Velvet Elvis

As I told you before, I was reading Rob Bell's book Velvet Elvis and in the middle of the book, there was a whole section missing. I did the paper work for Zondervan and I have now received my new copy. I am very happy to write that all of the pages that were missing are included. What strikes me is that there was nothing that was included in the package containing the replacement book. There was no form letter. There was no, "sorry about that." Just the book.

When I mess up, I do my absolute best to apologize for my error. It just seems like the right thing to do. When a company fails at producing a promised product, I guess I expected them to have an even higher standard. It is an interesting learning moment for me when it comes to Charter Oak Church.

Book #3 - The E Myth Revisited

While I was on vacation I finished my third book for 2007 - The E Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber. I originally placed this book on my reading list because so many leaders that I follow highly recommended it. Now I know why. I read the book through the lens of the church. Where it talked about small business I inserted the church. Wow, why most churches don't work and what to do about it. Now that's something that all church leaders should be getting into.

I loved the section on the Business Development Process of innovation, quantification, and orchestration. That alone was worth the price of the book. Then he laid out a great explanation of the strategic objective. All too often the church just lives day by day.

There was just so much information found in this book. I would highly recommend the book for church leaders and for small business owners.

Going To Disney World

The Whitehead Family is going to Disney World in 3 days!

Changing Churches

One of the people I follow very closely is changing churches. Tony Morgan is the pastor of administrative services at Granger Community Church. This is the church that everyone on our staff and many of the key leaders in our congregation have visited for the Innovative Church Conference. This is the church we learn from more than any other. Tony is one of those leaders that I learn a great deal from on a weekly basis.

I was shocked when I received an email from the senior pastor at Granger, Mark Beeson, announcing Tony's move. Tony will be moving to New Spring Community Church in South Carolina. Perry Noble is the pastor there. This is a church on the move. 1 out of every 22 people in their county attend this church. There are counties in which this isn't true for all of the churches combined! The incredible thing is New Spring is only 7 years old.

I am going to watch this move very carefully because moves are going to start to be announced soon within the United Methodist Church system. Starting next week the bishop will meet with the rest of the cabinet and decide which pastors will be moving to new churches this year. This is very often a stressful time for pastors and churches. My previous church will be getting a new senior pastor. The current one has been there over 25 years and is retiring.

I will watch how Tony, Granger Community Church, and its senior management team go through this transition. I will keep you updated with my learnings.

Final 2006 Stats

The final statistics are in on 2006. I don't share these numbers to pat ourselves on the back, but to say "way to go God!" This has been an incredible year and I am so thankful that God has placed me at Charter Oak Church. Here's the info:

Attendance:
2006 Worship

• December average - 921
• Year average - 605

2005 Worship

• December average - 774
• Year average - 503

2006 Sunday school

• December average - 245
• Year average - 215

2005 Sunday school

• December average - 183
• Year average - 184

Finances (General Fund only)

• December 2006 - $105,477.60
• December 2005 - $59,341.98
• YTD 2006 - $787,932.16
• YTD 2005 - $646,290.62

Finances (Total Income)

• December 2006 - $210,891.79
• December 2005 - $187,414.71
• YTD 2006 - $1,422,788.99
• YTD 2005 - $1,178,141.78

Remember, the best is yet to come!

December Worship at a Glance

December 2/3 - I preached
605 in worship (24.5% increase from 2005)
280 in Sunday school (23.9% increase from 2005)

December 9/10 - Dave preached
1,102 in worship (28.3% increase from 2005)
267 in Sunday school (65.8% increase from 2005)

December 16/17 - Dave preached
679 in worship (34.2% increase from 2005)
280 in Sunday school (42.9% increase from 2005)

December 23/24 - Dave & I preached
1570 in worship (26.2% increase from 2005)
No Sunday school

December 30/31 - Mark preached
647 in worship (235.3% increase from 2005)
154 in Sunday school (No Sunday school in 2005)

Four More Books!

Last night I received a great gift - four more books! What an incredible surprise. Here are the books:

• The E Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
• Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
• First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
• Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton

I am so excited about these books. I am starting E Myth Revisited while I wait for Zondervan to send me another copy of Velvet Elvis.

Thanks Tom, you're the best!

Tough Question - Dying Church

Tonight I was doing ministry by "walking around" after our Wednesday night children's ministry program called Mission Possible. I was introduced to one of the moms. She told me that her daughter loves Mission Possible and is learning so much. She said she and her husband were in a delimma. They currently attend another church. There is one child in the Sunday school program - their's. They were thinking about switching to Charter Oak Church because they want their daughter to learn about having a relationship with Jesus. She asked me what they should do.

I said a quick prayer and then answered her that we would never try to take a family from another church. I told her I would never say anything negative about another church. Then I told her that she and her husband have a responsibility to raise their children to love God with all of their heart, mind, soul, and strength. If they do not genuinely believe that is happening where they are now, then they need to find a place where that can happen.

I didn't get the feeling that this family is "church shopping" - trying us out because we are new. I really felt that this mom wants the best for her family and is willing to do whatever it takes to help her family to learn about Jesus. She told me that her family history at her current church goes back to her grandparents - they were married there. It was obvious that this was not going to be an easy decision.

As a pastor, this was a very tough question because I'm not sure of what my responsibility is to another church and helping people stay at their current church instead of attending ours. I'm not into sheep swapping, I would love it if all of the new people who attend Charter Oak Church didn't know Jesus - that would be awesome. But the truth of the matter is, there are churches dying and closing everyday and those people need a place to worship and grow.

Is it more important that a person or family stay at a dying church or to find a place where they can develop as a follower of Jesus? What would you have said to this mom?

Missing Pages

I was reading one of my new books for the year - Velvet Elvis, when I was in the middle of a great story that Rob Bell was telling and then I turned the page and 20 pages were missing right in the middle of the book! I couldn't believe it.

So I went on the the zondervan website to try to figure out what to do to get my missing pages. On the frequently asked questions page, it was number 7. This was the first time for me, but this is obviously something that happens often enough that it rates a 7 out of 194. I filled out the form and I just sent it out. Hopefully they will send me a new book. I'll keep you posted.

Vision Message Response

This past weekend I had the privilege of sharing the vision message for 2007. At the end of the message I challenged everyone to ask themselves two questions:

1. What's your next step in 2007?
2. Who will you walk along side of in 2007?

I also challenged our congregation to sign up for one of our Discovery classes that we offer four times a year. Finally, I asked each person to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and to come forward to receive a copy of my previous post on taking it to the next level in '07.

The response was incredible. We had more people sign up for our classes than we have ever had before. We had so many more people come forward at the end of the service to receive the card than I ever thought possible. I would have been happy with five people coming forward, instead we had hundreds. I am totally in awe of what God is doing here!

Commitment from Vision Message

I’m Taking It to the Next Level in ’07!

Today I am stepping across the line. I’m tired of waffling and I’m finished with wavering, I’ve made my choice, the verdict is in, and my decision is irrevocable. I’m going God’s way. There’s no turning back now!

I will live the rest of my life serving God’s purposes with God’s people on God’s planet for God’s glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his Word.

Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living, and a home awaiting in heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.

Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, “we” over “me,” character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most, and I’ll give it all I’ve got. I’ll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today.

I won’t be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I’ll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me. When times get tough, and I get tired, I won’t back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide. I’ll just keep moving forward by God’s grace. I’m Spirit-led, purpose driven, and mission-focused, so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race.

I’m a trophy of God’s amazing grace, so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for every day, and generous with everything God entrusts to me.To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I say, "However, whenever, wherever, and whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes! Wherever you lead and whatever the cost I’m ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyway. Whatever it takes, Lord; whatever it takes! I want to be used by you in such a way, that on that final day I’ll hear you say, 'Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!'"

Vision Message

This weekend I am sharing the Vision message for 2007 to the people of Charter Oak Church. I can't believe that I have this incredible responsibility. I certainly do not feel worthy of this. I just completed my final run through. It is going to be a long message. But I hope that it is a simple message that everyone can get their head around and can get their heart into.

On Friday as I just put the finishing touches on the message, I read this quote, "If a vision must be sold to others, it is not a compelling vision and is probably not from God. Spiritual leaders don't sell vision; they share what God has revealed to them and trust that the Holy Spirit will confirm that same vision in the hearts of their people."

Book #1 - Momentum for Life

Today is the first day of the year and I have already read my first book. With the whole New Year's Resolution thing in mind, I thought I would begin with a book about "sustaining personal health, integrity, and strategic focus as a leader."

He uses an aconym called DRIVE:
Devotion
Whatever I am devoted to is who I become.
S.O.N.
Scripture reading for the day
Observation from what I read
Naming practical applications for my life
Written prayer.
Begin each day with the practice of Bible study, meditation, journaling, and prayer.

Readiness
Spend at least an hour a day reading about the best practices of leadership culture today as
well as staying faithful to ancient truths of the past.
Life long learning: become a student of the culture, so you can continue to make a meaningful
contribution in God’s world.

Investing
Investing in key relationships, beginning with my family. I’m committed to putting my
family before my work and church.
Invest in other people who are strategic for the mission. All people are equally important to
God, but not all are equally strategic for the expenditure of your time for God’s purposes.

Visioning
Visioning for the future. If I have no future pictures, I’ll live in the past. It’s critical that
you have a picture, because you become your life picture.
You have a unique calling; you must become who God has created you to be.
Look forward through eyes of faith. Articulate with clarity God’s preferred future; make
daily strategic corrections to your life picture.

Eating & Exercising
Take care of my heart and health. Run regularly. Work out with weights. Watch fats, carbs,
& sugars
Take small steps and then bigger ones. Take a vigorous walk. Take care of your body for the
long haul as well as for today.

Think Psalm 120:2
Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue. Save me from rationalization, procrastination, and a lack of visualizing your bigger picture for my life mission.

Cool Christmas Present

From now on all of my book links with be with Barnes & Noble instead of Amazon. Why, you ask? Because of Stan and Betsy. She gave me a really cool Christmas present - a membership to Barnes & Noble. Now every time I walk into the store to buy something and the sales person asks me if I have a membership I can say "YES!" I used to hate that question, now I can't wait until someone asks me.

Happy New Year!

Rock on! It's a New Year! Everyone gets to start over. That feeling of freshness, that feeling of maybe things can be better, it's one of the closest connections that I can come up with to explain the grace of God. With God's grace all things are new. No matter who you are, no matter what you have said or done in the past, when you genuinely ask God to forgive you, it's done. It's a brand new day, a brand new year!

Thank you God for reminding me, a sinner, on this New Year's Day, that your grace is sufficient, even for me.

Thru the Bible

Today is the last day of the year and I just finished the last reading of Thru the Bible in a year. What a great journey it has been! I write and read a great deal about discipline. Pretty much everything I have come across says that great leaders have great discipline to do the things they are supposed to do day-in and day-out. This truth is becoming all the more clear to me. We all naturally gravitate toward entropy. I know I sure do.

When I made the decision to read through the Bible in a year I knew it was something that I needed to do on so many different levels. First, I had never read from cover to cover before. My grandmother, who I have always looked up to as a spiritual giant, talked often of the many times she read through the Bible cover to cover. Second, I wanted to have a new perspective of the totality of the Bible. Yes, I have read the entire Bible before, but going in order makes a difference. Third, I knew I needed to create some space on a daily basis to read God's word for no other reason than to just read His word. It is easy to just read the Bible for sermon or teaching preparation. I know I need more. Fourth, if I am going to be committed to being more disciplined in my life, what better place to start than the Bible. There were only two occasions that I got "behind" in my reading. However, I knew I was committed to doing this so I did the extra work to get caught up.

As leaders our foundation comes from our relationship with Jesus. Our character is to be one with his character. We learn about the character of Jesus through reading the Bible. If you are a leader you must add this discipline to your daily life.

Getting Started on My Reading List

A few weeks ago I posted here some of the books I hope to read in 2007. Well, I received four of those books and I'm excited to start reading. I am on vacation this week so I will be reading up a storm. I just finished One Thing: Boldly Pursuing All That Matters by Dwayne Roberts. Dwayne is a prayer missionary at the International House of Prayer (IHOP). I received this book a few months ago through my subscription to Relevant Network. I was glad to read the book, but it really didn't say too much. There was a ton on the experiential side of prayer, which was interesting, but not always true. I don't believe God wants us to seek an experience of Him, I believe God wants us to seek Him, no matter what. It was good to read something a little bit different than I normally would. That is going to be my theme for 2007 - reading more of a variety of books.

My next read is on my 2007 list - Momentum for Life: Sustaining Personal Health, Integrity, and strategic Focus as a Leader by Michael Slaughter. Thanks for the book Jen.

You have to read about this

I just found out that there is a Starbucks in Bloomington, Illnois that had an incredible thing happen in the drive thru. Go read it here...

Here's my question, who started this and then who stopped it? If it happened to you would you continue to give or would you just receive?

Other Interesting Statistics

The average attendance in worship in November was 638 people. In 2005 the average attendance in worship during November was 529. That is an increase of 109 people! Holy cow!

The giving through November for 2006 is $1,211,897.20. During the same time frame in 2005, it was $990,727.07. That is an increase of $221,170.13! Holy cow!

I wonder what God will do in December? Just as a little glimpse, we had over 1,100 people here last weekend! Holy God!

November Worship at a Glance

November 4/5 - Dave preached
640 in worship (4.9% increase from 2005)
273 in Sunday school (15.7% increase from 2005)

November 11/12 - Mark preached
599 in worship (20.3% increase from 2005
254 in Sunday school (1.6% increase from 2005)

November 18/19 - I preached
636 in worship (32.3% increase from 2005)
283 in Sunday school (40.5% increase from 2005)

November 25/26 - I preached
678 in worship (29.1% increase from 2005)
216 in Sunday school (9.6% increase from 2005)

L.A.S.T.

Last night was our final Leadership and Servant Training gathering of the year. I walked away thinking to myself - I love the leaders of Charter Oak Church! We have the best, brighest, and Christ-centered leaders. It was awesome to lead a discussion looking at next year. It was inspiring to listen to our people dream God-size dreams for our church. I am blessed to be a part of what God is doing here and is going to continue to do through the people of Charter Oak Church. You guys are the best!

Reminded Again - It's Not About Me

For about a half a second I got a big head yesterday. Fortunately, it was only about a half of a second. I was asking what our "numbers" were for this past weekend. When I say "numbers" I mean what was the attendance and offering. You know those really easy things to track, but may not mean nearly as much as most people think they do.

Anyway, the offering was about 3 times as much as it typically is. The half a second thought that ran through my mind was, "wow, I taught a message on giving and people responded in a huge way." Then it dawned on me that we took the offering before I spoke, and most people write their checks long before they get on our campus. So I was reminded once again that it is not about me, but about God working through His people in profound ways.

I'm not saying that I was disappointed with the offering. I'm saying that it is so important for me to be reminded from time to time that this call that has been placed on my life by God is not about me and all about Him.

Game Show

It just hit me that there was a game show related to my last post - Truth or Consequences. I looked it up, here's the wikipedia information on the show.

Holy Boldness

I have been reading and following a pastor from South Carolina for about a year now. His name is Perry Noble. He is the pastor of New Spring Community Church. I love reading his blog because he has this holy boldness about him. He is not afraid to tell the truth in love. I just subscribed to his podcasts so I am going to start listening to his sermons as well.

This past weekend I was so concerned about how people would react to the way that I taught about giving. I'm not saying that I should preach like Perry, but at the same time I do ask myself if I could really say it the way I want to say it without worrying about the fallout, what would I say?

I often wonder if I should teach with more boldness, but maybe that's not the right word. I seek to convey God's truth to our people in a way that makes them think and causes them to make a decision about their life now and what their life would be like if they lived out what I was teaching. What I don't do, and what I think Perry does, is teach God's truth, but he also lets his people know the consquences of not living in that truth. I will be honest with you, I tend to shy away from the consquences aspect. I desperately want people to choose the character of Jesus because they love Him and have completely given themselves to their relationship with Him. I don't like ultimatums. I love relationship building. I truly believe that lives are transformed by love not fear.

No Heat

Thanks to the storms that ripped through the area on Friday we don't have any heat in the office wing this morning. Do you know how cold it is outside? Well, there is some difference in the office wing, but it doesn't seem like very much. So I am in Common Ground (our connecting space) catching up on some reading.

I just finished my series called Deal or No Deal: Making Decisions that Honor God. Because this weekend was the beginning of Advent, we celebrated the Lord's Supper together. I don't know if it is my Catholic background, but having Communion at each of our worship gatherings does something deep within me. I always feel like I have laid it all out there and made myself completely vulnerable to God. This weekend was especially powerful for me because I was speaking on giving in such a way that we have to completely trust God.

I am amazed at the human psyche, maybe I should write that I am befuddled by my psyche. As I posted before I was really wrestling with God about what to say to our congregation about our proper response to God when it comes to our income. I will admit that I want to speak the truth of God into the hearts of our people, but I want everyone to really like it.

After each worship service I had a number of people say very encouraging things to me about my message. Then, when I got home Sunday afternoon, my son blew me away. He said, "Dad, your sermon touched my heart today. Next week I am going to give God all of my money." Sometimes God just works in such profound ways that warms a daddy's heart like nothing else. It was awesome! My psyche was flying high and mighty. Then a few hours later I received an email that in essence said, "You blew it today." The rest of the day and through the night that email has haunted me. I don't know why. It even consumed much of my prayer time this morning as I tried to listen to God. What am I supposed to take away from this weekend?

What Will You Give This Year?

Last year I challenged our congregation to think differently about giving gifts to those people in their circle of influence. This past week I lifted up the incredible power of influence - that others have over us and that we have in other people's lives. So you have a group of people that you have influence in their lives. What would it look like for you to influence them to think differently about giving this Christmas?

Here is the link for World Vision. This is the site where you can purchase a goat, a wheel chair, a well to drink fresh water, and a whole host of other opportunities to bless people you will never know this side of heaven.

When you give someone in your circle of influence a gift from World Vision you are opening up the pipeline line to a spiritual conversation as to why you would do something so counter-cultural. It's a great opportunity to share what God has done in your life through your relationship with Jesus.

Here's to providing people in a distant land with much needed resources and to providing the opportunity to help someone who doesn't know Jesus another step closer to a changed eternity.

2007 Book Purchases

I was asked by my lovely wife if there are any books on my "wish list" for Christmas. I always have a list going of what I want to purchase next on my book list. So I thought I would share with you my top 12 books I am going to purchase and read in 2007. They are listed in alphabetical order by author.

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith
by Rob Bell

First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently
by Marcus Buckingham

Now, Discover Your Strengths
by Marcus Buckingham

The Big Idea: Focus the Message - Multiply the Impact
by Dave Ferguson

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
by Michael E. Gerber

Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell

Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment
by Erwin Raphael McManus

A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shares Spiritual Leaders
by Reggie McNeal

Creating Community: Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture
by Andy Stanley

Momentum for Life: Sustaining Personal Health, Integrity, and Strategic Focus as a Leader
by Michael Slaughter

The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus' Essential Teaching on Discipleship
by Dallas Willard

Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense
by N.T. Wright

I am sure that as new books are released next year that this list will grow. I also have a list of books I am planning on reading next year that I already own. I will try to put together a list of the books I already own and will read next year. That will be a long list, but it may be worth while to post. I'll try to remember to do it by the end of next week.

Deal or No Deal - Last Night

As we are in the middle of this series called Deal or No Deal: Making Decisions that Honor God, I watched the lastest episode of the game show last night. I laughed so hard. The guy that was on it was one of the best I have ever seen. He was doing so well at the beginning, but as the show went on, he started to spiral downward quickly. He left the show with $10. The highest amount offered to "buy him out" was over $200,000. Wow!

This weekend I will be finishing the series with a look at Income - Making Decisions that Honor God. I have been praying and wrestling about how to present this year's message of asking people to pledge for next year's ministry.

At first I thought about just laying it all on the line and do a very deep, spiritually mature message. Then I began to realize that we have grown so much over the last year. There are a ton of new Christians here. There are people who are coming in our doors for the very first time. How do I balance this? I know there are people who are ready to be challenged to give beyond ten percent. I also know there are people who don't give anything.

If you have a few moments would you please pray for me? Ask God to give me the discernment and the wisdom that I will need to hear from Him. I want to speak His truth in love in such an authentic way when it comes to our income. I don't want to be a hurdle in people's lives as they seek to be more like Jesus.

Our God Reigns

I was reminded again this past weekend that our God reigns supreme. It was one of those weekends that can only be explained by the hand of God. First of all, I thought that since we would just be coming through Thanksgiving that we would have a very low attendance. We didn't; we just keep increasing every week. I can't explain it other than to say it is a God thing.

Second, I thought the Saturday night service was just plain strange. I can't put my finger on what it was that stood out for me, but I never was able to get into the flow of the Holy Spirit. Because of how things went on Saturday night, I thought the whole weekend would be a disaster.

Then on Sunday morning something began to happen, at least in me. I could feel the momentum of God's presence building in me and it seemed in the people who were coming in our doors. I felt a spirit of joy and thanksgiving in people. It was just awesome to see and hear people coming to our church ready to worship God.

I know I will never fully understand God. This weekend was a prime example of me trying to but failing. I am so thankful that our God reigns. I don't want to do this without Him. I know I will fail. I don't want to fail. The stakes are way too high. People's lives hang in the balance. I don't want to stay where I am, I want to move with God faithfully and obediently.

Soccer Coaching Clinic

This past weekend I spent 18 hours with about 30 men and women learning to be a better soccer coach from PA West Soccer. In the middle of preaching all weekend I also was running around Pitt @ Greensburg learning and developing as a soccer coach.

I have to tell you, this was one of the best learning environments I have ever been a part of. Part of the time was in a classroom as the facilitator walked us through techniques of coaching - what to do and what not to do. The other part of the time was actually spent on the field with hands-on learning of how to be a better coach. It was totally awesome.

I have been playing or coaching soccer for most of my life. I learned that I am "a stupid American coach." All of the facilitators were foreigners. Pretty much everything I have learned about how to coach soccer was blown out of the water. It was a humbling and an exciting experience. It was humbling because I thought I knew so much about soccer and how to bring the best out of the guys I have been coaching. It was exciting because if the teams I have coached have had success with me doing everything wrong, that means that we should be phenomenal using what I learned this past weekend!

During the on-field sessions the facilitator would explain to us what he expected of us, then he would let us try to implement it. As he would see "coaching" moments he would stop, give us a praise for what he saw us doing well, then he would correct what he saw wrong, then he would show us the correct way to do it, then he would allow us to try the activity again coaching us as needed for us to get it right, and then finally he would release us back to the activity at full speed. It was great stuff. When the session was over, he would take the time to review what he expected and what we should have learned, then he would ask us for any questions that we might have that we needed clarification on.

This week I have been thinking about how I can apply that to my leadership at Charter Oak Church and how we all as leaders can apply this model of coaching in our homes, work places, or wherever we are in a leadership position. Good, good stuff!

Six Steps and Five Quotes

Yesterday I received an email asking me why I wasn't blogging. My initial reaction was, it hasn't been that long since I posted anything, had it? Well, it has been too long. Sorry about that.

This past spring, Leadership Journal shared the following six steps and five quotes by volunteer management expert Don Simmons on equipping volunteers:

• Training. “If it is important enough to do, it’s important enough to train volunteers in how to do it!”
  
• Affirmation. “We often forget that people need to know that they matter more than what they do.”
  
• Feedback. “Authentic, love-based feedback does much to develop servants into strong leaders.”
  
• Evaluation.
  
• Recognition. “Recognition acknowledges people for what they do.”
  
• Reflection. “What did you learn about yourself? People decide in the reflection whether they will do this again and if they will let it change their lives.”

I think this list is great. What strikes me is that there wasn't a comment about evaluation. I would say that evaluating volunteers is probably the most difficult aspect of leading. I would also say that it is one of the most valuable because it helps those who are volunteering to know exactly what we want and what we don't want. Evaluation is part of the feedback and recognition process.

A Little Reading

While I was away I was able to get a little reading done. The first book I read was Monday Morning Leadership by David Contrell. This was a great little book that didn't take very long to read but it had plenty of pearls of wisdom. One of the first things I wrote down was from the first chapter - "When it comes to leading people, there is no problem that is unique to you. So don’t feel sorry for yourself. That’s a waste of time. Just make plans to make things better. If you want to be extraordinary, the first thing you have to do is stop being ordinary."

The second book I read was Just Walk Across the Room:Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith by Bill Hybels. This was a very inspiring book. It challenged me and how I develop relationships with people. If you attend Charter Oak Church, I can promise you that you will be hearing more information from what I read. "I'm asking you to give up everything you have and everything you are for the sake of people's souls. Come with me, and you'll see what real living is all about!"

Solitude

One of the spiritual disciplines that I teach about is solitude. It is a discipline of abstinence. That means I intentionally refrain from doing something, in this case, being around people. I will be completely honest with you, I did not like being in solitude. The first night, when I would have normally been tucking my kids into bed, I was alone. I started to pace and I started to just long for the company or the voice of someone else.

So instead of giving in to the urge to call Kelli, I began to worship God. For over an hour I just poured out my heart to God in worship. It was a good thing there were no other people staying in the cabins around me. I turned up the music and I sang out loud with all that I am. Instead of relying on other people for my energy (which is the definition of an extrovert) I found my strength and comfort in my relationship with God.

I truly believe that I would not have had that level of intense worship if I was not practicing the spiritual discipline of solitude. If I would have just tried to do this time with God at home, it would not have been anything like what I experienced in those woods. I didn't bring an agenda that night for God to fulfill. I didn't ask God to show me anything or to say anything to me. I just came as a sinner. I knelt before the throne of God and proclaimed that my Heavenly Father is God and I am not.

I slept amazingly well that first night.

Alone with God

Last week I took some vacation time to go away to a small cabin in the woods to spend alone with God. I am hoping that throughout this week I will spend some time sharing my alone time.

I couldn't have picked a better week to go away. The weather was perfect. I was able to take long walks in the woods and around the nearby lake every day, some days more than once. The sun was brilliant through the falling leaves. The Son was brilliantly revealed in my heart and soul as I sought to sit at the feet of my heavenly Father.

The two words that I will be writing about and will continue to pray about are FAITHFUL and OBEDIENT. Every day, every walk, every prayer time, every down time these two words continued to invade me and consume me. I cannot fully express in words what God was doing in me as I wrestled with the true living out of FAITHFUL and OBEDIENT.

The questions that I kept asking was...what does it mean for me as a disciple of Jesus to be FAITHFUL and OBEDIENT? What does it mean for our staff to live out FAITHFUL and OBEDIENT? What does it mean for our congregation to live out FAITHFUL and OBEDIENT?

More about my time is coming later...

Compel Them

I asked what does it mean to you to compel people to come to Jesus. I have been thinking about that a great deal lately. We have seen incredible growth around here lately, to the point that I am wondering when we need to start the process for the next building phase because we are already maxed out in a variety of places. We are using over flow parking already. The children's Sunday school area is five times bigger than our old building and yet, we will soon be struggling with overflow of kids. We are ramping up for 1,000 in worship. These are all awesome things!

So if this kind of growth is happening why in the world would I be writing about compelling people to come to Jesus? Well, for me, it's not about how many people we have coming now, it is the people who are not in a relationship with Jesus that matter the most. Jesus said he came for the lost and the sick, not the healthy. Over sixty percent of this region is unchurched! That should set us on fire.

I believe God has positioned Charter Oak Church to be a place where people feel welcome and loved. I believe God is raising up a mother load of people who genuinely love Jesus and want to share that love with people who do not know him.

I believe that to compel people to come to Jesus we are going to have to build relationships with people in our circle of influence so that they can discover that we care about them and we love them. Then we can invite them to Charter Oak Church so they can learn why we love and care the way that we do. And when they get here, we must have a building full of people who are totally sold out to Jesus and his character.

Compel is an action verb. We can't just expect people to come to Jesus because we have a really cool building. We are going to have to get involved in people's lives, not to bring them to church, but to point the way to Jesus.

Compel Them to Come in

As I was doing my morning time with God, I came across Luke 14:23, "Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full."

I know I have read this passage so many times, but I was reading in a different version this morning (TNIV). God wants us to compel people to come into His Kingdom. Wow!

This may just become one of my rallying passages for my life and ministry. Compel them to come in...compel them to come in...compel them to come in.

In a day when the Church is moving farther and farther away from being relevant and the society around us is moving farther and farther away from God, I read this very simple but profound passage - compel them to come in.

What does the word compel mean to you?

Worship and Sunday school Stats

I just published the worship and Sunday school statistics for the month of October. We are having God size growth. Last weekend we broke a new record for Sunday school attendance - 320!! That's awesome! We had 669 in worship! The phenomenal thing about that is I saw so many people I didn't know. People are checking God out.

What about you, are you stepping up and inviting people to check God out at Charter Oak Church? Are you finding ways that you can insert yourself into people's lives who do not have a church home? I know you know some one who needs Jesus. 65-70% of this region doesn't attend church. Let's make a dent in that!

Keep up the good work, keep inviting, keep praying for your unchurched friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members. Keep looking for those God moments that we have every day to live the character of Jesus. It is so awesome to join God where he is at work!

October Worship at a Glance

Sept 30/Oct 1 - I preached
591 in worship (56.8% increase from 2005)
255 in Sunday school (5.4% increase from 2005)

October 7/8 - I preached
555 in worship (13.5% increase from 2005)
270 in Sunday school (16.4% increase from 2005)

October 14/15 - Dave preached
615 in worship (37.3% increase from 2005)
250 in Sunday school (40.5% increase from 2005)

October 21/22 - Dave preached
577 in worship (72.3% increase from 2005)
231 in Sunday school (2.2% increase from 2005)

October 28/29 - Dave preached
669 in worship (45.1% increase from 2005)
320 in Sunday school (34.5% increase from 2005)

What's Your Word?

This past weekend Pastor Dave challenged each of us to write down the one word that it is going to take for each of us to have a serving heart. The words were Listening, Helping and Bearing.

As I have personally thought about each of these three words, for me, it is bearing that I really need to work on in my life as a follower of Jesus.

The one line that really grabbed a hold of me in the message and continues to simmer in the back of my brain is "always be ready to be interrupted by God." Most people do not enjoy being interrupted by anything, or anyone for that matter. But as Pastor Dave reminded us, it is in the interruptions of life that God is seeking to work in and through us. My prayer is that I will have eyes wide open for those moments of interruptions that God gives to me.

What's your word?

What would you do?

I was reading into the mystic blog by Alex McManus this morning and I was struck by this statement and question he posed...

"If you wanted to reach 20-50 people this year or month without reference to your budget, building, membership or staff, how would you do in your context?"

What would you do? This is not a question about numbers. This is about a heart for people who do not know Jesus. Check out Luke 10, Acts 16 and Acts 19.

Do we have the capacity to look beyond the budget and beyond what we want church to look like and feel like for us to be comfortable?

Can we boldly stand up and declare that we are here to let this region know that each person matters to God and therefore we want them to know of the love of Jesus? If we do that I believe that we can reach 20-50 per month for Jesus.

First Night without Soccer

Tonight is the first night without soccer for a couple of months. Wow, what a change! I have started to catch up on my reading. I started reading Compassionate Leadership by Ted Engstrom and Paul Cedar. I really appreciated this quote, "Under normal circumstances, a congregation is the length and shadow of its shepherd. Members reflect the attitude and ministry style of their pastor. When a pastor is eager, so will be the congregation. When the pastor is generous and forward looking, so will his congregation." Good stuff. This isn't a difficult read, but it is a good one to get back in the reading saddle with.

Paintball

Last night we had our end of the year party for the soccer team. We went to the paintball park and had an awesome time. I can definitely see why paintball has become such a huge industry.

I played three different rounds. The first time I was knocked out by Seth Jonczak and the second time I was knocked out by Tyler Heydorn. Seth hit me in the finger, Tyler hit me in the head. I would give Tyler the "kill". The third round I finally figured out the strategy: stay low, shoot straight. I moved up, bam - I took out one with a shot to the arm. I moved up further, bam - I took out another with a shot to the chest. Finally I am in the other team's side and I take out a third with two shots, one to the chest and one to the neck. It was awesome!! I will not release names in order to protect them from the shame of being shot by their coach.

I will be the first to admit that I was a bit nervous going into this because I knew that I had a bullseye on me because of all the windsprints and running I made the team do. I even had a thought that my own team would turn against me just to get a chance at shooting me. But we stayed together and had a great time.

Fantastic season. We finished 9-6-2. Not bad for our first year together.

Character?

If you follow college football in any way, you know that there was a huge fight on Saturday between the players on the University of Miami and Florida International. There are a ton of suspensions being handed out to the players that are involved. Yesterday the "clean up" began. Players who are hoping to play at the next level are doing everything they can to get television time in order to apologize.

What is interesting to me is that each of these players are saying that their conduct on the field in the heat of the moment of the game did not accurately reflect their character. Really? It is my understanding that our character is revealed in those moments, not hidden. When we are pushed and challenged in our daily lives, how we react is a revealer of who we are and what is truly important to us. For these players to say that their actions on the field did not represent who they are is making what they did on the field even worse.

When we as leaders choose to blame the situation of our behavior we are seeking to take the responsibility for our actions off of us. The truth of the matter is we are all going to fail. We are all going to say things and do things that we know we should have done. We need to take responsibility for what we did, learn from it, repent of it, and walk in the forgiveness of God.

Remember, your character is with you all of the time, whether you want to admit it or not.

Blessing of Multiple Voices

As the title of this blog says, I am one of the pastors at Charter Oak Church. I realized for the first time in a while how much of a blessing that is. I didn't preach this weekend, and I am thankful. I have been going fully speed for the last few months. I thank God for Pastor Dave. What a blessing for me and I believe for the people of Charter Oak Church to have multiple voices from our stage.

Words cannot express my appreciation to this church to have the opportunity to sit with my wife and kids and worship and learn. I also think it is a brilliant strategy for having a fresh word from God for the congregation. I can spend these next weeks praying, studying, and preparing for my next series. I also think it raises the bar of the level of preaching for me. After hearing Pastor Dave preach, it inspires me to want to be a better preacher because he is excellent. When I get on stage, I want to make sure what I am saying is totally from God. This time in-between the series allows me to seek God in a deeper way.

Another thing that happens through this model of preaching is a focus on what is truly important for the people of this congregation to hear. If I am only speaking 25 weeks out of the year, I want to be very sure that what I am saying is relevant to the spiritual development of each person here.

I would highly recommend to all of my pastor friends to share your pulpit or stage with someone who is a great communicator like Pastor Dave. You will be better for it. Your congregation will definitely be stronger for it.

September Worship at a Glance

September 2/3 - I preached
622 in worship (49.2% increase from 2005)
271 in Sunday school (83.1% increase from 2005)

September 10 - Bishop Bickerton preached
765 in worship (48.5% increase from 2005)
No Sunday school stats

September 16/17 - I preached
576 in worship (30% increase from 2005)
264 in Sunday school (9.1% increase from 2005)

September 23/24 - I preached
596 in worship (40.9% increase from 2005)
272 in worship (9.7% increase from 2005)

See the Morning

Last week I picked up Chris Tomlin's new CD "See the Morning." Good stuff. For five straight days it never came out of my CD player in my car. I highly recommend it.

I was totally cracking up when I opened the CD case to find out that I could down load ringtones of Chris Tomlin's songs. One of them is Forever another is How Can I Keep from Singing. Even Christian artists are doing the ringtone thing.

I can assign specific ringtones to people on my cell phone list. If I were to download one of those two songs, I would assign them to my wife, Kelli.

iFear quote

Here's a couple of follow up quotes from the iFear message yesterday.

"Fear is the emotion of conformity.
If Abraham Lincoln was correct that we all come into this world as God's original but usually depart as man's copy, then nothing is more responsible for the erasure of this dignity than fear...
Of all the fears that currently plague our lives – from the fear of terror and death, to aging and illness, to professional setbacks and public humiliation, perhaps none is more tragic than the simple fear of being yourself...
Just take a moment to think about that and to fully grasp how serious that
is: you're afraid just to be yourself... "

The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.
~ Proverbs 29:25 The Message

"I am who I think people think that I am."

Thanks Kelli.

Leadership Reminder

I just found this list presented by Scott Hodge. It is a great reminder for leaders on the difference between coaching and just the "gitter done" mentality. Read these and see where you fall some of the time and/or most of the time.

A few differences between a "tasking" mentality and a "coaching" mindset.

1. Tasking focuses on WHAT. Coaching focuses on WHY. A good coach always explains the "why" behind the "what." If a person is only in tune with the "what", they will never catch the vision and purpose behind it and therefore will not be able to fully reproduce themselves and the type of culture that we value.
2. Tasking focuses on a job well done. Coaching focuses on WHY it was done well. A coach explains WHY the job was done well. The impact of being specific in your praise towards someone else increases the impact more than we can imagine.
3. Tasking sees people as a tool to get a job done. Coaching sees every opportunity as a chance to better others and to build relationships. The relational aspect is huge! Because........people don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
4. Tasking focuses on HOW the job was done wrong. Coaching always corrects by going back to the vision/mission.

If we can help people identify for themselves where they went wrong or dropped the ball by bringing them back to the vision/purpose of the environment, the response will almost always be more positive. This can be accomplished by asking two simple questions: "Did we hit the target?" and "Why or why not?"

Blogger Outline

Here's the link for the blogging breakout session from the ICC this past week. Good stuff.
http://www.tonymorganlive.com/Blogging_Breakout_Outline_22sept06.doc

Character Building

As many of you know, I am coaching for Latrobe soccer this season. Earlier this week, our team and I had the opportunity to learn the importance of character development. I was reminded that I have a responsibility in my day job (pastor) to help develop the character of Jesus in the lives of the people of Charter Oak Church. But I also have that responsibility as this team's coach. I may not be able to say that is what I am seeking to do in these boys' lives, but the reality of my position and my world view is that our character should find it's foundation in the life of Jesus. I can't change who I am.

I was challenged on that this past week. Not that someone challenged me on my faith, but I believe God challenged me through an incident that I could have just let go or I could take the extra time, energy, and focus to deal with it. I could have easily just said boys are boys, but I knew that was just a cop out. Instead I challenged the boys and the team with a higher standard of expectation and character on their part. It was not easy. I lost sleep over it. I'm sure I gained a few more gray hairs too!

In the end, I think it was well worth it. I have had the chance to talk to some great parents and see them step up beyond what I thought they would do. We have great parents on our team! I hope that this week will be a defining moment in these boys' lives. I hope and pray that they will realize that the things they say and the things they do matter and have implications. Part of the implications will be lived out in today's game. It may hurt the scoreboard for us, but I believe it will be a win for them in the long run.

Blogging Breakout Session

About a dozen people from our congregation went to the Innovative Church Conference in Granger, Indiana. There were a couple of break out sessions that I would have gone to if I was able to go, but I was here coaching and preparing for the weekend message.

One of the breakout sessions I was very interested in was led by Tom Morgan on Blogging. I was disappointed that I couldn't pick his brain, especially since I have not been posting over the last month. I felt like I needed an inspirational message on why I should blog.

This morning I received my RSS feed and low and behold, Tony sent me all of his notes from the breakout session. I am pumped! He shares the why and how of blogging. I have just briefly read his notes, but I am looking forward to going deeper and maybe even shooting him an email with some questions.

This may be just what I needed to inspire me to keep on blogging.

New Information

We have new contact information at Charter Oak Church...

449 Frye Farm Road
Greensburg, PA 15601

(724) 805-0355
(724) 805-0359 (fax)

All of our extension numbers have changed as well...

Barb Bobula - x 249
Cindy Jonczak - x 252
Maxine Wilson - x 253
Andi Farrell - x 254
Betsy Hunt - x 255
Bill Gates - x 256
Tim Toohey - x 257
Pastor Mark - x 258
Pastor Dave - x 260
Pastor Chris - x 261

The website is still the same - www.charteroakumc.org
The student ministry website is still the same - www.charteroakstudents.org
All of our email addresses are the same.

August at a Glance

I try to give a "Monday Morning Quarterback" each week on the happenings from the previous weekend worship services. Since it has been a while since I have posted, let me just give you a glimpse of August...

August 5/6 - Pastor Dave preached
493 in worship (24.5% increase from 2005)
153 in Sunday school (61.1% increase from 2005)

August 12/13 - Pastor Dave preached
548 in worship (31.4% increase from 2005)
155 in Sunday school (53.5% increase from 2005)

August 19/20 - Last worship service in old building
596 in worship (50.9% increase from 2005)
No Sunday school

August 26/27 - First worship service in new building
748 in worship (68.3% increase from 2005)
No Sunday school

I'm Back

Okay, so it's been over a month since my last post. Yes, I have heard you asking me when I was going to start posting again. I think things have settled down enough around here that I can get back to the blogging world again. The last month or so has been a wild ride, more to come...

Last Week

This is the last week in our current building. As you may have noticed, I have not been posting very many times in the last week or so. This week will probably be no different. We have a million things to do and a week to do them in. Here's a sample:

• Today our worship chairs are being delivered.
• Today I have a very important meeting at Latrobe School.
• Tomorrow is our last staff meeting here - we have to get the last details done.
• Tomorrow night I start coaching my son's soccer team.
• Thursday our new office furniture is delivered.
• Thursday is our last work day in our current offices.
• Friday our new computer network will be installed, so all of our computers will be unavailable as they set up the new system.
• Saturday we being to move all of our boxes.
• Saturday night I preach what will be the final weekend in this building.
• Sunday morning we say goodbye to this place in a very special way.
• Sunday afternoon we finishing moving everything.
• Then all next week we get to unpack!

It is an awesome time to be a part of Charter Oak Church!

Monday Morning QB 08/14/06

Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:

Message: What We Need More that Money (Dave preached)

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-4

Service Highlights: This was Pastor Dave's last message in our current building. Dave made an empassioned plea for everyone connected to Charter Oak Church to fulfill the words of Paul in Colossians 4:3, "pray for us." This isn't just for the staff but for our entire congregation. I hope you will join with us over the next few weeks as we get on our knees before God as never before.

Stats: 548 in worship + 155 in Sunday school.

Monday Morning QB 08/07/06

Here is the Monday Morning QB for this week:

Message: What's So Amazing about Grace? (Dave preached)

Scripture: Psalm 121

Service Highlights: Each week we have been remembering the past decades here at Charter Oak Church. This week Lois Frye shared with the congregation her memories. This was one of the most touching moments for me since I have been here. Her ability to tie the past to the future was incredible. Dave shared with the congregation a very clear understanding of what grace is and why it is for all of us.

Stats: 493 in worship + 153 in Sunday school

A Great Day

Yesterday was a great day! I was privileged to officiate at the wedding of Jeff and Debi - two really awesome people whom I love greatly. What a blessing to be a part of that phenomenal day.

At the reception Kelli and I were able to re-connect with some old friends. I want to thank Dan L. for having such a servant's heart and refilling our pitcher of Pepsi as often as we needed it. What a guy!

I Love Our Leaders

Last night we gathered our the leadership of Charter Oak Church for our monthly Leadership and Servant Training. Here we are at the beginning of August and I was blown away by how many of our leaders turned our for this time together.

Andi did a great job casting the vision of the importance of first impressions. We get one chance to make a first impression and it will last. Pastor Dave's words about everything that happened with the media yesterday and our response was perfect. What he said and how he said it made me stand in awe of his ability to capture the importance of the moment. I am learning so much from him!

I really appreciated the time with the leadership just sharing thoughts, ideas, and questions about our move and the new building. These are the brightest and best people on this earth. We are incredibly blessed to have the kind of leadership that we have at Charter Oak Church.

Thank you leaders for your heart to lead in the name of Jesus to the zenith of your potential! You rock!