Meeting a New Need

The Latrobe School District announced that there would be periodic early release days this school year. It just happens that the day they choose is also the day we have an after school program for elementary age kids.

We quickly realized that there was a new need in our community - quality care for elementary age kids who's parents work. What would Charter Oak Church do with this new opportunity?

Yesterday was our first opportunity to meet a new need in our region. We worked with the three principals of the local elementary schools. We let every family know of our ability to meet their family's need throughout this school year.

We had 84 kids show up! Did they have fun? Were they well served? As kids were being picked up some were crying because they didn't want to leave. Others kids were begging their parents to bring them back the next time. I think Maxine Wilson and her team did an incredible job!

It is amazing when we open our eyes to the opportunities that God presents and then we bring passionate, called, and gifted people together to serve in places where God is obviously at work. We couldn't have created the kind of excitement that we saw - both in parents and in the kids. The parents, who had a major problem on their hands, now know that they can trust us with the care of their children. The children, who had never been here before, now know that this is an awesome place.

All of this happened because we were open to the possibility of God using the people of Charter Oak Church to meet a new need in our region. It was also possible because we have built relationships with the local schools and have their trust to recommend us to every parent in the district. It has happened because we haven't asked what can you do for us, instead, we have asked how can we serve you?

Concert Last Night

Last night I had the awesome privilege to sit next to most awesome woman in the world, my wife Kelli, at the Stephen Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith concert at the South Hills Bible Chapel. Great location - very intimate. The worship center sits about 1,400 people, I think. There isn't a bad seat in the house. The furthest seat away from the stage isn't much further than the distance from our stage to the back of the room.

Kelli and I were invited by some great friends to experience a night out that was fabulous. We went out to dinner, we talked, we laughed, we told hilarious stories about each other.

Then we heard some of the tragic story of Stephen Curtis Chapman's family. He sang songs we have heard before, but with a new heart and a new passion. I can't even imagine what it would be like to go through what they have. Stephen is a story teller, between songs and in the songs - he tells the story of God's great love. It was really good stuff, with really good people to be with last night.

Questions

On Sunday afternoon, I facilitated my first "Pastor's Lunch" with 13 people who are new to Charter Oak Church. I decided to start this first step opportunity because I want to make it easier for people who are trying to discern if Charter Oak Church is the family they want to become a part of as they grow to become more like Jesus. As we ate lunch I shared some of the church's history and my faith background. After they finished eating I gave them the opportunity to ask me anything they wanted about the church - our mission, our ministries, our staff, whatever they might need to know to understand us - where we have been, where we are currently, and where we are headed.

It was a great time together. I loved hearing the stories of lives that have been touched in a significant way in the short time they have been attending Charter Oak Church. I thank God that He has brought these people here. I thank God for what has been done in them and will be done through them in the future.

If the people present for the Pastor's Lunch are an indication of the lives that are being transformed by the love and grace of God, then I can't wait to see what's next as God moves in powerful ways.

Guitar Shopping

I took my family shopping at the Guitar Center this past weekend. My son is in the market for a new electric guitar. This was my first experience at a major, national guitar store chain. I was blown away. There had to be a thousand guitars there. The prices varied from $10,000+ to $199.

As my son tried different guitars, I quickly realized that quality is everything, but quality costs big bucks.

That makes me think about how we do things around Charter Oak Church. I believe when we are serving God and making His name known in this region we should do it at the highest level of quality that we can. Sometimes that means that we invest some serious dollars into purchasing something that will help make that happen. Other times it means that we invest our time and energy to bring the most innovative and creative process to the table. It may not cost money in terms of buying something, but it definitely is an investment.

Every week people enter our doors for the first time. They quickly realize that we a different than the typical church. I know this because people tell me. These people are looking for an environment where they can experience the love and grace of God. We can either do that with little creativity and little investment or we can bring our very best to the table week after week. You would think this is a no brainer, but it isn't. We are different as a church because we work hard to bring quality to everything we do so that we can honor God.

It is easy to forget in the day to day activity of the church that high quality honors God; we just get so busy. But just as you can hear the difference in sound between a cheap guitar and a quality one, there is a difference in the church when we bring our very best versus just showing up. God always deserves our best!

What Does 40 Look Like?

I need some help. I am turning 40 years old in November and I will be preaching on my birthday. So I thought I would do a series on the number 40. I have the series all planned out, but I don't have a logo or an image for it yet. I'm not sure what 40 looks like. How do I create an image that captures that number? Now if you are thinking about sending an email to me with ideas that include an old, fat guy with no hair, you can stop now. I'm trying to think of something creative. If you have an idea, I would love to hear about it. Nothing is out of bounds, except of course the old fat guy idea. So here's your chance to influence the series image.

Downloads

I just checked the stats on the number of downloads of our sermon podcasts. It has only been up about 2 weeks and we already have 75 downloads. I can't believe my mom has listened that often! If you want to listen, then you can click here.

I think we are going to put up Pastor Mark's last series and the series that we did on Titus this summer after that. So keep checking in for new podcast posts.

What They REALLY Mean...

I just read this post from Perry Noble and I had to share it. I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me and I knew what the underlying meaning was behind what someone was saying. What is written is tough to read for some people.

What They REALLY Mean…
One of the lessons I’ve learned while being in the ministry for the past 17 years is sometimes what people say isn’t exactly true…things such as…

(WARNING…you will probably only like this post if you are a pastor or a staff member of a church!)



What They Say: “I’m looking for a church that preaches the Word!”
What They Mean: “I’m looking for a church that preaches MY view of the Word. I think the BLANK translation should be used…I think BLANK should be talked about a lot while BLANK should be ignored. And if you ever stop preaching my view of the Word I will leave and tell others that you don’t preach the Word!”



What They Say: “Lot’s of people have been coming to me and saying they don’t like is…”
What They Mean: “I basically only have three friends…and all of them think exactly like me. The other night we were enjoying a time of self righteousness because, after all, we are right about everything…and we're also slandering you (in the form of prayer requests) and thought it would be wise to approach you with our pet peeve. We’ve actually talked to no one else about this but said “lots” because we wanted to validate our dysfunction.”



What They Say: “I’m leaving the church.”
What They Mean: “Beg me to stay. If you will just ask me I will share with you several ways you can compromise God’s vision that He’s given you, thus becoming nothing more than a people pleasing pastor who is more interested in popularity than obedience. If you don’t bow to my demands I will remind you that I tithe and that the church needs my money, reducing you to a mere preaching whore…one who is paid for a service for the pleasure of another person.”



What They Say: “I want a church that is more focused on discipleship.”
What They Mean: “I want a church where everyone knows me and how important I am! I don’t want to reach people who are different from me, be it economic class or race or even musical preference. I already know WAY more than I do…but I somehow equate spirituality with knowledge rather than application and I rather enjoy feeling intellectually superior to those who don’t know as much as me.”



What They Say: “Don’t take this personally…but…”
What They Mean: “I am about to lower the BOOM on you…but you can’t get angry because I told you not to take it personally. Even though you have dedicated your life to this and pretty much invest every ounce of energy you have to this cause…and I think about it once or twice a week…you need to receive my attacks, even when they are personal…and you cannot retaliate because, remember, it’s not personal.”

Book #20 - The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family

On the flight home from Kansas City I read Patrick Lencioni's new book, The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A leadership fable about restoring sanity to the most important organization in your life.

This book was written for me. I love my wife and kids, man do I ever. But I just have never resonated with the family self-help books that are out there. I don't know why, but I just don't think they were speaking my language. Pat's book is speaking my language.

This book is real. It is applicable. I didn't feel beat up or guilty after reading it. I didn't think it was pie in the sky stuff. As I was reading I could easily ask myself the 3 big questions. It doesn't matter who you are or what situation you are in, this book is relevant.

Here are the questions:

1. What is our top priority right now?
2. What makes us unique?
3. How will we talk about and use the answers to this information?

If you are business minded guy who is tired of all the other family help books out there, then get this one. I'm sure it resonates with women as well, but my wife hasn't read it yet to let me know. This book will be an ongoing conversation for our family for a very long time.

Book #19 - Jesus Wants to Save Christians

Last week as I flew to Kansas City I read Rob Bell's new book (thanks Tom) Jesus Wants to Save Christians. I think this is my favorite Rob Bell book. It is just such a timely read with everything going on right now in the country and just stuff that I am dealing with as the lead pastor of Charter Oak Church.

I really love the connection that is made between the superpowers of Jesus' day and the superpower of the US today. "Jesus was a Middle Eastern man who lived in an occupied country and was killed by the superpower of his day." Rob paints the picture of the multi-generational plan of God and how God is revealed in each generation. The question becomes, how is God being revealed in our generation?

This is a really good read and I would highly recommend it.

Four Friends

Mark 2:1-5 is the account of four friends who want to bring their crippled friend to Jesus for healing. As these five men approached the house where Jesus was preaching the word, they quickly realized that the house was full, all of the space around the house was taken, and there was no way they were going to get their friend to Jesus. Or was there?

The friends went up on the roof with their friend in tow. They tore open the roof and lowered their friend right in front of Jesus. One of the most amazing things about this story is that when Jesus saw the faith of the four friends he healed the crippled man.

One of the most important things we do at Charter Oak Church is equip believers to become fully devoted followers of Jesus so that you can reach people who do not have a relationship with Jesus.

Mark 2:1-5 is a great example of this. They have every reason in the world to turn back and go home without their friend entering into a relationship with Jesus. But they get creative and they will not be deterred. Their friend is obviously too important. They risk it all so that they can get him to Jesus. He enters into a relationship with Jesus and then he is healed.

I know there are people in your circle of influence that are hungry for a relationship with Jesus and they have things going on in their lives that need to be healed. You may be the very one that God will use to introduce that person to Jesus. It won't be easy to get the courage up to invite them to Charter Oak Church with you, but the very person we are talking about in your circle of influence has immeasurable value to your heavenly Father.

Take the risk - invest and invite.

Ministry Fair

This past weekend we celebrated ministry opportunities at Charter Oak Church. We had over 20 booths of ministry areas that people had the opportunity to check out and listen for the prompting of the Holy Spirit to their call to take up the servant's towel in a particular area.

If you were one of those people who felt the tug of God upon your heart for ministry, I hope you will not let the week end without touching base with the leader of that ministry. I hope that you will ask God for the courage to get out of your comfort zone and be a part of what God is doing here and in our region.

You have been given a great opportunity to take your next step in your faith development. Go ahead - take it, I'm rooting for you! God has equipped you. Go for it!

Where's the Church? - Where Am I?

I recently was told by my wife that Bono, of U2, met with some of the richest people in the world to talk about poverty and the economy of the United States. Here's a comment I found from that meeting...

"It is extraordinary to me that you can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion to save 25,000 children who die every day of preventable treatable disease and hunger," the U2 lead singer told Clinton's fourth annual philanthropic summit in New York. "That's mad, that is mad."

The Group of Eight wealthy nations vowed in 2005 to raise annual aid levels $50 billion by 2010, $25 billion of which was to go to Africa. But under current spending plans, the G8 will fall $40 billion short, according to a June report by the Africa Progress Panel set up to monitor implementation.

As I read this I was thinking to myself, what a shame that our country is the one that is doing the least amount in this justice issue. Of the eight, we are dead last on the list of fulfilling our part. Then I realized, is this our country's responsibility or is it the Church's? As long as we can point at something so much bigger than ourselves, like the country, then we don't feel the responsibility. We can blame others. Even when we make it so broad as to say it is the Church's responsibility, I think that is too big as well.

The question we should be asking ourselves is, what is my responsibility? I fully realize that this is an even harder question to ask in such uncertain economic times, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be asking the question. We also can't stop at the question, we need to find answers. We need to move from being a part of the problem to a part of the solution.

Dollars and $ense

This weekend Pastor Dave launches a new series called Dollars and $ense. With the state of the economy, this series couldn't come at a better time. The incredible thing is, Pastor Dave and I planned this message series LAST August! That's right, in August of 2007 we felt directed by God to place this series at this time. God is obviously up to something in the world and He uses people like us to make it happen. How awesome to be a part of his multi-generational plan.

I know you have people in your circle of influence who have questions about the economy and what God says about our finances. This is a great opportunity for your to invite those who are asking so many of these relevant questions. I can't wait to see how God uses this series to move people closer to Him and equip them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus.

Podcast

Thanks to Eric Thompson we now are podcasting all of our sermons at Charter Oak Church. You can click here or on the link on the right. Way to go Eric!

Confrontation

Just read this post by Shane Duffy on confrontation in leadership - good stuff.

Pressing Too Hard

I went to my son's soccer game yesterday. Man, it is very difficult to move from the sidelines as a coach to the bleachers as a dad. They were playing a team that at the end of the game should result in another "W" for them. Late in the game they were down a goal. As I watched in agony I learned some leadership lessons that if I was on the sidelines I doubt I would have seen.

First, in the last 15 minutes of the game, some of the best players were exhausted - they had nothing left and were still on the field, not making the contribution they could have made if they were rested for the last push in the game. How often do we as leaders not take time to rest and get refreshed for the next push of God in our lives? God gave us a gift in the Sabbath because He knows that we need it. We can't lead when we are exhausted.

Second, the players who are really skilled tried to win the game themselves by keeping the ball, but since it is a team sport, they lost control of the ball and missed opportunities to score. The church is very good at raising up "lone-ranger" leaders who are asked to carry the brunt of the work because they have good skills. The reality is, the church is a body and we need all the parts working together. God did not gift us with leadership to go it alone, but to partner with others to join God in the work that He is doing in and through us.

Third, there were many opportunities for players to score, but they never took the shot. This was some of the most frustrating parts of the game for me because I am wired to win so I know that you can't win if you don't score and you can't score if you don't shoot. Many times leaders are given the opportunity to make a difference in someone's life and because of fear or because of busyness or a whole host of reasons never makes the investment. We miss out because we are looking for the perfect set up or because we are afraid we will miss. Our responsibility as leaders is to be obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Let God take care of the rest.

Innovate Conference

We're heading for the Innovate Conference today. Granger Community Church puts together one of the best conferences for church leaders that I have ever attended. Charter Oak Church has been learning from GCC for many years now. They have opened themselves up to us along the way and have given us an unbelievable amount of time and resources to move us in the right direction. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us this year.

New Book Release

I just received an email from Patrick Lencioni annoucing the release of his new book - The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family. Pat is one of my favorite authors. He usually writes in the business sector, but with a definite influence through his faith in Jesus. Now he is venturing into a family development book. I am planning on going to Barnes and Noble today to purchase his new book. I hope they have it.

Making a Decision NOT to Complain

On Saturday I attended a meeting to hear about the new structure of our annual conference of the United Methodist Church. I was there because I was asked to be on one of the newly formed teams. We have a very complex structure in order to serve a very large geographical area with people who have a wide range of ideas of what our annual conference should be doing.

I have to make a decision about continuing to be on that team. I have a decision to make, but before I can make that decision I have to ask myself, what I ultimately believe about my role on the annual conference level and what I believe my contribution should be at that level. Do I believe that since I am the lead pastor of one of the largest churches in our annual conference that I have a responsibility to be on the team? Do I believe that since my number one spiritual gift is leadership that I should be on the team? Do I believe that at this time the things that are going on at Charter Oak Church are too time consuming for me to join the team?

These are some of the questions I am wrestling with as I listen to God's prompting about my role on the conference level. To be honest, I think that in this "flux" time, my natural tendency is to complain about the situation instead of rigorously working through what I believe about this arena of my life before making a decision. I recently read a blog post by Ben Arment about complaining. Here are the points he makes...

The opposite of complaining is leading...

• If you don't like a decision your boss makes, lead up.
• If you don't like your office culture, lead around you.
• If you don't like your circumstances, lead through it.
• If you don't like your church's short-comings, lead out.

I know that I am to be leading. I don't want to be a part of the problem, I want to be a part of the solution. Complaining never gets to the solution, it just dwells on the problem.

I still don't know what I am going to do about being on the conference team, but I do know that I am making a decision not to complain, because ultimately I believe that complaining in not leading and I am called by God to lead to the zenith of my potential and so are you.

Going Off-site Today

Our Senior Management Team is leaving in a few minutes to go off-site today. We are going to calendar 2009 and pray, process, and dream about what God has in store for Charter Oak Church in the coming years. We could really use your prayers. This is such an exciting time in the life of our church - lives are being changed, people are sharing their stories of what God has taken them from and who they have become in Jesus. Incredible stuff - only God stuff.

We are going over to New Stanton UMC where my good friend Steve Bane is the pastor. God is doing some really great things there too. I used to think that when I led an off-site that we had to pay to rent a room at hotel or at a conference center or something like that. Then I began to think of all of the churches that are around that probably have a room or two that are available and the pastor wouldn't charge us for it. So we get the off-site with all of the advantages of getting away, even if it is only across town and it doesn't cost us anything.

What would happen if we as the Church started sharing resources for the building up of the Kingdom? What would happen if we started to think about each other (churches) as being on the same team, trying to move the same ball down the field together. I thank God for Steve Bane and his Kingdom mindset, he truly is a servant of Jesus.

Week 1 Handout

At the end of the worship service this past weekend I gave each person the opportunity to pick up a handout to continue the conversation at home that was begun in the sermon. If you didn't get a copy or you weren't here, you can click here to get a copy.

I hope it will spark some good conversations in your family, in your small group, and in your prayer time.

Investing

I just sent out 10 invitations to seventh grade boys for a new small group that I am starting in a week. What am I thinking? Am I crazy? Those are two questions I had to wrestle with before I agreed to say yes to this new leadership call.

The answer became very clear to me as I heard God whispering in my ear about investing in the next generation. These ten boys have immense value to God. They have kingdom potential within them for today and for the future. I don't know what the future holds for them, but I know the One who holds their future and I believe God is giving me an opportunity to invest in some budding teenagers for the next season of their life.

What about you, who are you investing in?

Small Groups

The small group I am a part of at Charter Oak Church started up again. We affectionately call ourselves "Dads in the Middle." Most of our wives are in a small group called "Moms in the Middle" so we are just playing off on that title. Both our wives and we are standing in the middle between God and our children. We are seeking to do life together as dads so that we can develop as followers of Jesus. We want our relationship with our kids to come out of our relationship with our Savior.

As I look at the church calendar I am blown away by how many small group opportunities there are this fall. I hope that you will carve out the time in your busy life to be actively involved in a small group. I truly believe the best place for spiritual development to occur is in the context of a small group. If you want help getting connected, give me a call.

Book #18 - It

Last week I read one of the best books on church and leadership development that I have ever read. Craig Groeschel's new book It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get IT and Keep IT. One of the reasons I love Craig's writing is because he is so transparent and so grounded in his relationship with Jesus. This book was a very real look at his life as a leader in a local church and what it takes to stay in tune with God.

I originally purchased this book after the Leadership Summit. I ran to the book store at the end of his talk. I think the book sold out very quickly.

If you are a church leader or a leader in the church, then I would highly recommend you get this book. It will be on my desk for a very long time as I read and re-read it. There are just certain books that you know will continue to speak into your life for a long time. I think this is one of those books.

Increased Pulse

I was reading Mark Beeson's blog the other day and he gave some surprising figures about United Methodist Churches. There are only 13 that average over 3,000 in worship. There are only 33 averaging over 2,000 in worship. There are 100 that average over 1,000 in worship. And finally, there are only 1,000 that have over 500 in worship. You can read the whole article here.

As many of you know who read my blog, my vision is to see people in this region who don't have a relationship with Jesus or who have, for whatever reason, stepped away from that relationship to fall in love with our Savior and place Him at the center of their lives.

When I read stats like those given by Mark Beeson, it increases my pulse, not because of numbers, but because there are UM Churches all over the country. We have within us the great potential of sharing life with people who are walking in death. I don't care about our rank with all of the other churches around us. We won't be held accountable for how we compare. We will however be held accountable for being faithful and obedient to the vision God has given the people of Charter Oak Church. We have been strategically placed in this incredible location with very high visibility. God desperately wants to use us to reach this region with the love of Jesus.

If you are from Charter Oak Church I want you to know that we still have empty chairs available on weekends for your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members. There is ALWAYS room at the cross. Do everything you can to invest in people in your circle of friends and invite them to worship with you. Remember, these people matter to God.

Breakaway

We are putting the finishing touches on the start of our next sermon series - Breakaway.

I don't know any one who sets out to be like everybody else, but it happens. We all start swimming in the same direction in a little fish bowl called life. Then one day we wake up feeling trapped. Unfortunately many people think the answer is to run away, but they end up making the same bad decisions over and over again. How do you break the cycle and jump out of that fish bowl of life? The point of this next series is to renovate your thinking by exposing you to core beliefs that have the power to change the trajectory of your life.

If you have a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, or a family member who has been making a series of bad decisions, who is breaking hearts, who is leaving a path of destruction behind them, then invite them to come to Charter Oak Church with you during the month of September.

Legacy

With the unexpected death of Don Lash, I am reminded once again of how fragile life really is. Earlier this year I asked the people of Charter Oak Church how they would live if they knew they had 30 days to live. In moments like we are going through now, I realize that most of the time we won't know that we have 30 days to live. Therefore we must choose today to live completely and totally for the glory of God.

When I approach life with this mindset then the things I think are so important fade into the background. Instead, my heart beats faster for my family. My pulse quickens for the 33,000 people within a 5 mile radius of Charter Oak Church who do not have a church home. My drive is stronger to equip people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus. I want to go after life and after all that God has created me to be and to do. If my attitude is one of expecting to live a very long life, my tendency is to take people for granted and to be slow to engage people outside of our church. You and I must live today to the fullest.

We are all going to die, but it is in the way that we live that matters.

The Passing of a Pastoral Giant

The Reverend Don Lash died on Saturday evening. Don's wife, Betty plays the organ for our traditional worship services. The following is his obituary...

The Rev. H. Donald Lash, 79, of Greensburg, passed away Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008, in UPMC Presbyterian, Oakland. He was born March 29, 1929, in Madison. A gifted preacher, he served seven churches for the United Methodist Church in Western Pennsylvania, from 1957 until his retirement in 1994. He also served as the district superintendent of the Kane District from 1989 to 1994, and sat on dozens of boards for the conference and district offices. Surviving are his wife, Betty M. Lash; his sons, Chris Lash and wife, Karen, of Palm Coast, Fla., and Dan Lash and wife, Jennifer, of Pittsburgh; his only grandson, Corey Lash, of Punxsutawney; and two brothers, Lowell Lash and wife, Sally, of West Newton, and Nelson Lash and wife, Mary Anne, of Arona. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Edith Lash; and his daughter, Karen Coleman. He was a graduate of Clarion University and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He most recently served as the Minister of Visitation for the First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg from 1998 until the time of his death. Family and friends will be received from 1 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the KEPPLE-GRAFT FUNERAL HOME INC., 524 N. Main St., Greensburg. Additional visitation will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, with services following at 11 a.m., in Charter Oak United Methodist Church, 449 Frye Farm Road, Greensburg, with the Revs. David Eversdyke, Martin Ankrum and Chris Whitehead co-officiating. (Everyone please go directly to the church on Wednesday.) In lieu of flowers, the family wishes memorial donations to the building fund at Charter Oak United Methodist Church. Terence L. Graft, funeral director, entrusted with the arrangements. For online condolences and information, go to www.kepple-graft.com.

Book #17 - The Next Level

One of our staff members gave me a book earlier this week and said that I should read it and it would only take about an hour to read. It was David Gregory's new book The Next Level: A Parable of Finding Your Place in Life.

There seems to be a new movement among authors to write about business principles within a parable. Most write the parable and then explain the principles and how to put them into action. This book didn't do that. It is just the parable and the expectation is that you can decipher the principles and how to apply them.

In this case, I got the principles, in spite of the parable. I'm sure it's just me, because I have read some good reviews of this book, but I thought the parable was forced and sometimes became more about the story instead of the principles. The book is fine, but just not at the level of a Patrick Lencioni parable telling book.

Worshipper

I just read the following post from one of the worship leaders at North Point Community Church. Click here to read the whole post, but if you want to read what grabbed my attention read on...

And let me be clear - participation, at least as I define it, is not necessarily “hands up, eyes closed”, but rather someone’s own, unique way of connecting with their Heavenly Father. That can mean a ton of things, because it really is different for everyone. Your level of spiritual maturity and growth is not based on how loud you sing or how high you can raise your hands. But for many, many people, there comes a point in corporate or private worship when you choose to focus on God, and subsequently your soul connects with the Holy Spirit, and it moves you to an outward display of submission and adoration for your Savior. But all the while, the real connection takes place on the inside of you - in your spirit as you submit your will to God.

Book #16 - Wide Awake

The other book I read on vacation was Erwin McManus' Wide Awake: The Future Is Waiting within You. There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed and was challenged by, but there were other parts that just seemed like he was re-hashing things he has written before. If you haven't ready anything by McManus, then I would highly recommend this book to you. But if you have read most of his other books, this is a take it or leave it book for me.

I love his challenge to be creative and to make the leap to go big with God. Here's a great line for me..."We become dogmatic as a result of fear, not faith. Faith keeps you flexible and postured for change. Faith ignites courage, not conformity. Fear seeks to control; faith seeks to create. This doesn't mean you don't have convictions but that you understand what your nonnegotiables are. Some things are your core; everything else can change."

I know he is writing about our relationship with God, but I have found that the same is true with people. When I have faith in someone then I am not dogmatic, I don't seek to control. Integrity is huge for me, when I lose trust in someone because they have choosen a set of actions or words, it's not good for my relationship with them, they lose my faith.

Book #15 - The Shack

I forgot to share with you the two books I read while on vacation. My wife handed me The Shack by William P Young right before we left. I have read so many blog posts about this book so I thought I should read it to see what all of the fanfare was about.

This was a really good book. It creatively looks at the relationship we have with the Trinity, in each of the three parts. It is fiction, so Young doesn't have to get it exactly right from a theological education that I received from Duke, but I think it does get it right from a heart and intention perspective. For that I am glad I read the book.

What would happen in your life if you decided to gather on a weekly basis with a group of people to pull in the same direction - that direction being the way of Jesus? We have just started sign-ups for 24 small groups, with more to come. We have men and women's small groups. We have support groups. We have Bible studies. We have book studies. We have them just about every day of the week and at different times during the week.

We believe that the environment that creates the best context for spiritual growth is a small group. I hope that you will join a group of people pulling together to become more like Jesus in every aspect of your life, down to the last detail.

For the Heart of Your King

Pastor Mark began his first series at Charter Oak Church this past weekend. He is talking about living in such a way that we no longer "sit and discuss" but that we "go and make." What would happen if we moved from the seated position to faith in action? What is your first step to make this change?

At the end of the worship service people came forward to write their "cardboard testimonies." The life they used to live and the redemption they are now living in through Jesus.

That's what we are about at Charter Oak Church - lives changed for eternity. We want to equip people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus. About 20 people we able to stand before family and friends and declare what God has done for them and in them. Great weekend!

What We Do Matters

What you do says a lot about what you believe. I guess I have inherently known this for a very long time, but from time to time it really becomes obvious.

When I take a day off in the middle of a busy week to spend with my family, it says that I value my family over work.

When I am a little late for a meeting, it says that I don't value the other person's time.

When I return a phone call or an email within 24 hours, it says that I respect that person's need.

When I am eating ice cream right before bed, it says that I don't believe my body is the temple of the Lord.

When I tithe, it says I am thankful for what God has given me.

When I don't take care of the stewardship of leading Charter Oak Church, it says I don't respect the Bride of Christ.

I could go on and on and on about my actions and what they are saying about what I believe. Half of the ones I listed above are on the negative side, I think it is important to also list the positive things I do and what it is that I am saying as I do those as well.

What about you, what are your actions saying about what you believe? What are you doing with your family? your finances (at work & at home)? your self-care? your leadership? your busyness? I can usually tell what some one believes about a particular area by the decisions he or she makes in that area. What are you saying?

Leadership Summit 2008

Last week I attended the Leadership Summit with a good friend and partner in ministry. Together we grew in our ability to lead well. Here is just a few things that I wrote down that were very important to me. Out of all of the Leadership Summits that I have attended this ranks very close to the top, if not at the top. Here are some notes...

Session #1 - Bill Hybels: The High Drama of Decision Making

How to make a decision...

1. Does the Bible say anything on this?

2. What would smart advisers say?

3. Look at pain of past decisions, gain of good decisions, & experience of past

4. Is the Holy Spirit prompting me?

Session #2 - Gary Haugen: Just Courage - Charging the Darkness

How are people to believe that God is good? The church is God's plan to make God's goodness evident to the world.

If you want your leadership to matter then lead in areas that are important to God.

Session #3: Bill George: Finding Your True North

We have been in a leadership crisis for the last 10 years.

What are you doing to lead and to develop your gifts?

21st century leaders...

Align people around the mission and vision of the organization

Empower people to lead

Serve others

Collaboration of people and organization

Session #4: Wendy Kopp: Stand Up and Lead

All great leaders have something that burns within them

Why are pastors afraid to ask big time? to sacrifice? to set the bar high?

Session #5: John Burke: Leading in New Cultural Realities

Broken relationships between God and each other prevents community

Tend the soil God gives you

Session #6: Efrem Smith: Leading in New Cultural Realities

God wants to love the world thru us, if you can't love across race you can't lead today

Race labels are not where we are

Session #7: Craig Groeschel: IT: How Leaders Can Get IT and Keep IT

4 Qualities

1. Laser focus

2. See opportunities when others see obstacles

3. Willing to fail

4. You need to have IT for your ministry to get IT

Session #8: Chuck Colson: Defending the Faith

We have transferred our allegiance from truth to therapy

We must contend for the faith

Lead, don't pander

Session #9: Catherine Rohr: Risk Taking, Barrier Breaking, Bold Leadership

Prayer - "Bring it on God, bring it on!"

Execute in obedience to God

Session #10: Brad Anderson: An Uncompromising Focus on People

It take a leader who really cares to bring employment engagement

Session #11: Bill Hybels: Relentless

God searches for those who are fully committed to Him.

If you were God, would you go after you to lead the church?

I want more of God than a bigger church.

Good Is the Enemy of Great

I haven't posted for a while, there's been a ton of stuff going on in my life and my leadership. One of those things has been an opportunity to coach the Latrobe varsity soccer team. The coach quit while I was on vacation. I was immediately interested - the same opportunity was presented to me at the end of last season after the long time coach quit because his wife was having their first baby.

As I looked at this opportunity I saw it as a good way to build relationships with people outside of Charter Oak Church. It was a good way for me to add value into teenage boys - to teach them integrity and character from someone who seeks to live into it from the Jesus way. I came up with a ton of good reasons to coach. I almost had myself convinced that I was supposed to do it. But all the reasons were only good reasons. As Jim Collins writes - good is the enemy of great.

After a more wrestling about a decision than I have ever done I came to realize that if I were to coach soccer then my family and my leadership at Charter Oak Church would be lessened for the season. So I decided not to coach. Below is the letter that I wrote to the athletic director explaining my decision.

Matt,

I wanted to get back to you as soon as I could about the opportunity to coach the boys' varsity soccer team at Latrobe. As I shared with you I needed to talk to my board, staff, and family about this before I made a decision. I have never wrestled about a decision like I have about this one. I would love to coach for Latrobe, and I know I could do it. However, I have a greater responsibility to my family and my church, so I will not be able to apply for the coaching position. I know my family would not get the fullness of my heart for the next 10 plus weeks. There is no one more important to me than my wife and kids.

Since I have a new job, I really don't know the full scope of leading this place well. The fall is the busiest time of the year for us and I just don't know what affect coaching would have on my ability to lead with integrity. I am not ruling out coaching in the future, my heart is in soccer. Right now I know I will not be able to love my family, lead my church, and coach the boys' soccer team at the highest level. I would dishonor all three if I did. It pains me incredibly to say no to you.

I am still willing to help run practices next week if you still need me to do so. If you don't want me there, I will understand. Let me know what capacity, if any, you would like me to have next week with practices.

Thanks,
Chris Whitehead

Home from the Beach

I'm back from the beach. It was a great time of relaxing. Kelli told me she hasn't seen me sleep so soundly in years. We spent almost all of our time on the beach or in the pool. This was the least amount of reading I have ever done on vacation - I was too busy playing with my kids or taking a walk on the beach with Kelli. I can officially say that I created margin in my life. It's good to be home.

Vacation!!

We are packing up the Jeep and heading for Sandbridge Beach, VA for vacation. I just packed more weight in books than I will pack in clothes. Just need my swim suit.

The house has a pool and we are right on the beach. The name of the house is "As Good as It Gets." Now that's what I am talking about!

Google Map

New Camera

I bought a new camera - the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. I feel like a manly man just typing the name of the camera. Anyway, it is a huge jump in technology for our family. We had one of the early digital cameras. It still worked but we began to notice that the picture wasn't as clear as it used to be. It was slower to take the next picture. There were just those little things that kept coming up that caused me to want to go get a new camera. Wow! What a camera. This thing takes clearer pictures than I could have imagined. It is a 10.1 mega pixel camera. That means it is rockin good!

As I thought about getting a new camera and what was happening with the old one, it made me think about the local church. It is so easy to get used to what we have always done. It has worked so well. We have great memories. But when we take a closer look, the way it used to work isn't the same as it is now. The quality isn't as good. The clarity of vision isn't as crisp. But we hold on to what we did because of the emotional attachment to it. (I have some of the most important pictures of my wife and kids that were taken by our old camera.)

We took our new camera to an outing in the mountains with some friends of ours. I took a ton of pictures (there is a feature that allows you to just keep taking pictures). I hooked the camera up to our computer and looked at the pictures. I was stunned! The clarity, the intensity were so awesome. We had a great day with our friends and I have the pictures to prove it. All of a sudden we have new memories. The camera didn't have anything to do with the great time we had - that is all about the people we were with that day, but the camera helped to capture it.

We don't do church the way most people in this region. We look very different to most people - from the way our building is designed to the way we create a total weekend worship package. We change things up to make sure that our vision is crystal clear to everyone who is connected to Charter Oak Church. We are developing and equipping people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus. We will use technology, buildings, drama, etc but the real point is people - people who become more like Jesus.

Website Updated

The Charter Oak Church website has been re-vamped and updated with new information, pictures, and features. More pictures should be on the way in the future. More and more people tell me that they find Charter Oak Church through the web. Hopefully the changes will draw even more people. You can check it out here.

Weekend Thoughts

This past weekend Pastor Dave continued his sermon series The Enemy Within by talking about bitterness. The total package of this weekend was phenomenal. Everything just clicked in together all building together to the message of letting go of the heavy weight of bitterness that people carry around with them every day.

We often do a funny drama to set the stage for the message. This weekend we did a very serious one that spoke about the bitterness in a marriage when someone has been unfaithful. At all of the worship services people didn't know whether to clap or not. It disturbed us - just what we needed to get our mind and heart focused on what God wanted to say.

I loved it when Pastor Dave said that forgiveness is available to everyone, God's grace is waiting with open arms to embrace you right where you are. Then he invited people to come forward and turn over all of their bitterness to God. Lives were changed for eternity this past weekend for sure. People dealt with junk that they have been nursing for a long time. They let it go so they could jump into the everlasting arms of Jesus and join God in His work.

If you are one of those people who didn't get out of your seat but you know that God was knocking on your heart to get rid of the bitterness, it isn't too late. Take the time right now, right where you are and turn it all over to God and ask for His healing. You will never be able to be all that God wants you to be until you let go of all of that weight taxing you.

If you are one of the people who did go forward, way to go!! That's so awesome. I want to challenge you to tell someone about the work that God did in you. Let your story help someone else have the opportunity to experience the grace and love of Jesus. God wants to redeem your pain by using it to display His power and mercy to someone who doesn't know Him or who has walked away from Him. Ask God to show you someone this week.

You belong to Jesus - He is all you need.

Celebrate Recovery

This past Friday we internally launched Celebrate Recovery at Charter Oak Church. What a great night! I am so excited about lives being changed for eternity as we journey together to become fully devoted followers of Jesus. Betsy Hunt has had a vision for bringing this ministry to Charter Oak Church and eventually to this region for over four years now. She gets the awesome privilege to partner with a great team of leaders led by Jeff Weneck to create a ministry that is Christ-centered. We are blessed to have gifted leaders like Betsy and Jeff to champion ministry at Charter Oak Church. If you are interested in more information you can show up on Friday nights at 6pm for a lite supper and then they kick off the ministry at 7pm.

All I can say is, way to go Betsy, Jeff, and the leadership team of Celebrate Recovery!!

Book #14 - When Leadership and Discipleship Collide

I picked up a small book that is part of a leadership library that is being compiled by the big names in ministry. When Leadership and Discipleship Collide by Bill Hybels is a quick read that really gives an authentic revealing of the best and worst of decisions that Bill Hybels has made and comparing them to decisions that Jesus made. The last 10 pages really make the book worth while because it is Hybels saying what to do when leadership and discipleship collide, because they always do. The main point is, always choose discipleship.

Leadership Lessons from Track Camp

I have spent the last two evenings with my kids at track camp - it lasts all week long. I have watched how this camp has been run and I have learned some pretty good leadership lessons along the way. The camp is being run by the local college, Seton Hill University, track coach. He has brought about a dozen members of his team with him to help, both men and women.

The first thing I noticed was that the track coach wasn't actually coaching any of the kids. The members of his team are doing all of the instruction. The kids are broken down by age and each age group spends about 15-20 minutes at each track or field event.

The second thing I noticed was that each of the track team members that are assigned to the specific event corresponds to their own personal event. They are competing at the college level and therefore are specialists in discus, high jump, hurdles, long and triple jump, sprinting, and shot put. The sprinters are not teaching the shot put, but instead what they are very strong in.

The third thing I noticed was that the head coach just goes from event to event to encourage and to help the member of his team that is running the event. He is pouring into the leader of the event.

The four thing I noticed was that they gather all of the kids, maybe 100 kids, together at the beginning to tell them what they will be doing that night and any changes they are making from the previous night. No one wonders what they will be doing.

The fifth thing I noticed was they are building to the last night. There will be a competition night and the kids get to pick their three favorite events and then get to compete for ribbons. This is great because kids can begin to self-evaluate what they are good at or what they enjoy and then really work hard on those events because they know that a competition is coming up on Friday.

What I would have liked to have seen is the head coach bringing all the kids together at the end for a quick pep talk, see you tomorrow, and think about what events you will compete in on Friday. Just a little vision casting to finish off the night. I also would have liked to have seen the head coach notice the team members on their phone or texting and remind them to fully engage with the kids. Just a little reminder of why they are there in the first place.

All in all, I am very pleased with what is happening in the camp and my kids are loving it. Good stuff all the way around.

Book #13 - Leadership Gold

Just about every pastor knows the picture of the guy on the book to the left - it's John Maxwell. The very first conference I went to when I was new in the ministry was John Maxwell's The 21 Irresistible Laws of Leadership. I wasn't 30 yet, I was given the incredible responsibility of leading a church and I was scared. Thanks to John's teaching, writing, and encouragement I have been able to grow by leaps and bounds in my leadership.

While on the beaches of Jamaica I read John's latest book Leadership God: Lessons I've Learned from a Lifetime of Leading. I picked this book up on a recommendation from my friend Tom. When Tom speaks, I listen.

Leadership Gold is John Maxwell's collective wisdom of 40 years in ministry and leading organizations well. After reading this book I realized I need to go back and take one chapter a week and really go after what it is that John is teaching here. If these principles worked for him, I need to press in and listen to the Holy Spirit as it applies to me and my leadership. I don't ever want to stop learning and growing. John has been one of those people who has mentored me from afar throughout my career. This book is for all leaders.

Book #12 - The Irresistible Revolution

On the plane down to Jamaica I read Shane Claiborne's book, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. This is the first book the summer staff at Won by One to Jamaica is reading. This is not a book for Christians who are comfortable in their faith. This is a call to some radical changes in the way we live as followers of Jesus. It is very difficult to stay on the fringe after reading this book. Kelli is just finishing it and said last night as we walked that it might be the best book she has ever read. That's the biggest endorsement that could be given to a book in my opinion.

Shane has a new book out called Jesus for President. If you want to read about it, check out Pastor Mark's blog here.

Incredible Word of Love and Commitment

Yesterday the Lead Pastor at Granger Community Church posted a blog called "The Most Bang for Your Buck." I was blown away by his words of love and commitment to the people of his congregation. He had incredible courage to post these words and he sent these words to every member of their church. When we are in times of change and in times of uncertainity leaders step to the forefront and do what God has gifted them to do - LEAD. Mark Beeson is leading his congregation well.

I am so proud of the people of Charter Oak Church. In the month of June, a time when most churches see a huge downturn in attendance and giving, we have had our largest giving month of the year. Our attendance has grown. I know God is at work here in our lives as we seek to become more like Jesus. Way to go Charter Oak Church! Stay in tune with the prompting of the Holy Spirit - the best is yet to come!

Re-engaging

Why does it seem like it takes the same amount of time to get caught up and re-engaged after vacation that you are gone? That's the way I feel. I think I have caught up on my emails, phone messages and meetings to get me to where I am supposed to be today. But at the same time I didn't post any blogs, I didn't read too many chapters in the books I am reading. I have learned that in order for me to be able to do all of those things and stay engaged with my family I have to give up certain things that I would otherwise be doing. I am willing to give up my blogging for a week to make sure I can go play soccer with my kids on Sunday night and take them to track camp last night. I am willing to read less so I can take a walk with Kelli. Re-engaging can take time, but I don't want to have to dis-engage from those who are most important to me in order to make that happen.

What about you? How do you protect yourself from dis-engaging when you are re-engaging after being gone on vacation?

Back from Vacation

Kelli and I just returned from our week of vacation in Jamaica. Every year we go away together for a couple of days, just the two of us. But this is the first time we have been gone a week from our kids and the first time we have left the country for our time away. It was a great vacation. I think it was the first time I was ever out of the country on the fourth of July. It was strange not seeing fireworks and having everyone dressed in red, white, and blue. The people we saw down there had no idea what was happening back home.

It's good to be back. I have so much to do to get caught up. I hope to blog about the books I read, the stuff God dealt with me about, and what it means for me to be the new lead pastor at Charter Oak Church. It still seems strange to type that.

Please pray for me as I re-enter into life at work and home.

Priceless

Riding the Phantom Revenge for the first time with Caleb...Awesome!

Riding the Thunderbolt for the first time with Abby...Phenomenal!

Opening and closing Kennywood Park with my family yesterday...PRICELESS!

Creating Margin

Last weekend I shared with the people of Charter Oak Church that I have been running very hard since the beginning of the year - no real breaks, even bragging about not taking a day off. Why is it cool to brag about breaking the 4th Commandment?

So, the last two weeks I have purposefully created margin in my life by taking a day off. It has been so refreshing to be able to catch my breath. I also recognize that there is a difference between taking a day off and creating space to be alone and quiet with God. Mark Waltz posted an incredible blog about what I am talking about. Read it here.

At the beginning of the summer I sat down with each member of our Senior Management Team and told them that one of my expectations of them this summer is to take three spiritual retreats. They cannot do it on a day they typically take off. It does not count as vacation. It is time for them to be still and quiet before their Maker. We cannot give what we don't have. The essence of our job is to give away Jesus. We had better be filled up with Him in order to do that well.

Bring Your Bibles

Last weekend I challenged everyone at Charter Oak Church to bring their Bibles to worship this coming weekend. We spent our time together last weekend praying and preparing to study the book of Titus for the next three weeks. We were preparing for rain - to steal a quote from the film Facing the Giants.

If you are planning on being in worship this weekend, please make sure that you bring your Bible. If you forget it, we will have plenty available here. If you think of it, read the first chapter of Titus. If you are feeling adventurous, read the whole letter - it's really not that long. Let's get ready to hear what God is saying to the people of Charter Oak Church.

Changing Offices

This week we are continuing the process of the transition between Pastor Dave and me. We are changing offices. This is more of a logistical matter than anything else. The office really doesn't mean anything. I know pastors who believe they are leaders because of the office they occupy or the title they hold. An office and a title have nothing to do with leadership.

I have learned through this time of transition that the more I go up, the more I give up. I have read so much from pastors and leadership gurus about this. I thought I understood it, but I really didn't. I could try to explain it to you as it was explained to me, but until you actually get to the leadership position, you can't really understand it. I know I didn't.

I have been very humbled lately. This is a huge job with huge responsibilities. Every day, at different times in the day, it hits me. Without God I will fail. I need to be on my knees more. I need to be in the Bible more. I need people around me who are praying for me. I need people around me who love Jesus, who love Charter Oak Church, and who love me.

I don't need people who criticize me, just because. I don't need people around me who just say yes, no matter what. I don't need people around me that aren't willing to pick up the servant's towel.

I see people very differently now. More than anything I want to look at each person and know that Jesus went to the cross for them.

PowerPoint from this Weekend

I had a number of people ask me about getting a copy of the PowerPoint from this past weekend's message. If you send me an email, I will get you a copy of it. If you weren't here this weekend, you can't order a CD, we did something that we have never done before. We practiced being quiet - silence is not easy, but oh, so good when you are listening to God.

Tons of Kids!!

Just a few minutes ago we kicked off the biggest summer program in the history of Charter Oak Church. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 240 kids showed up to learn about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We have 50-60 volunteers to walk along side of these kids in their journey. This place looks incredible. We have also set up a room just for those moms who are dropping off their kids. We have soft chairs, coffee, sweets, and people in there to just build relationships with these moms. Brilliant!

If you think about it today or any day this week from 9am-noon, pray for what is happening here.

On Mission

Yesterday morning 50 adults and high school students pulled out of the Charter Oak Church parking lot to drive to West Virginia to be on mission this week. They are working in conjunction with the Appalachian Service Project better known around here as ASP. Our congregation has been working with the organization for over 25 years now. My first mission experience was with ASP, many, many years ago. It made a huge difference in my life. I hope and pray that it will have an even greater impact on the lives of those who are there now. Please join me in praying for them every day this week. Pray for their safety, their ability to stay hydrated, their ability to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I pray that every person they come in contact with, whoever it may be, that each one of them will look at that person as some one for whom Jesus went to the cross.

Students Praying

Wow! A group of students from Charter Oak Church have made a decision that they are going to gather together every Thursday at 9am to pray here through the summer. Most high school students don't see the light of the morning during their summer break and yet here is a group that are not only up but are willing to go down on their knees before their heavenly Father to pray. That is a wow for me. Our Pastor of Students - Mark McMahon is leading and leading well.

Influencing the Jesus Way

Rob Wegner of Granger Community Church recently wrote of what I call influencing the Jesus way. He wrote, "Jesus taught thousands. He trained seventy. He discipled twelve. He mentored three." I love that strategy. I love the connection between verb and number. For me, it's all about capacity.

Jesus had the capacity to teach thousands. He had the capacity to train seventy. He had the capacity to disciple twelve. He had the capacity to mentor three. But here's the thing...it seems wrong to say that Jesus had the capacity to only do what he did at each level. He is God. Come on, God should be able to do anything and everything. So maybe it is that the capacity isn't on Jesus, but it is on us - those receiving.

So let's change it then. We have the capacity to be taught by the thousands. We have the capacity to be trained in groups of seventy. We have the capacity to be discipled in groups of twelve. We have the capacity to be mentored in groups of three.

What I am trying to get at is that we need to realize what we are capable of doing and do that, not doing more than what we have the capacity to do. Often times we will put ourselves in situations that just do not lend themselves to accomplishing what we want to do. If we could get the right combination of high capacity leaders with the right number of people in the group that goes with what we are trying to accomplish, how much more would we be successful?

Jesus used these numbers in each of these situations, aren't we supposed to be becoming more like Jesus in every aspect of our lives down to the last detail? Let's start influencing the Jesus way.

Worship and Sunday School Stats - May 2008

Here are the stats for May...

May 3/4 - I preached
740 in worship (.9% decrease from 2007)
289 in Sunday school (19.4% increase from 2007)

May 10/11 - I preached
756 in worship (.1% increase from 2007)
259 in Sunday school (7.5% increase from 2007)

May 17/18 - Dave preached
694 in worship (10.5% decrease from 2007)
274 in Sunday school (9.2% increase from 2007)

May 23/24 - Dave preached
622 in worship (6.1% decrease from 2007)
195 in Sunday school (2.1% increase from 2007)

Good Stuff from the Blog World

Here are some good things I have read from the blog world recently...

From Perry Noble - Pray for your pastor in these ways...#1 - Our Connection With God, #2 - Our Family, #3 - His Relationship With The Staff, #4 - His Battle With Spiritual Warfare, #5 - Rest. Read the whole post here.

From Scott Hodge - Who are you focused on leading? "Until you get your focus OFF of the people who are disgruntled, unhappy, unsupportive, and resistant to the direction God has called you to go, and ONTO those who are excited, supportive and on board, you will NEVER gain momentum and see a new culture created in your church." Read the whole post here.

From Craig Groeschel - Breaking growth barriers. You are going to have to change your mindset. Much of what you are doing now won’t work later. Read the whole post here.

From Rob Wagner - Jesus taught thousands. He trained seventy. He discipled twelve. He mentored three. Read the whole post here.

From Sherry Moorhead - One question I get a lot from other churches is how do you effectively communicate with the some 2500 volunteers that you guys have here at NewSpring? My answer always goes something like this “every way possible”. Here’s what we do right now. Read the whole post here.

From Kurt Johnson - What are areas in your ministry that are working well that may need a check up?I'm great at evaluating and improving on the weak areas of my ministry, but this morning's conversation reminded me that even some of the strongest aspects of our ministry need to be examined on a regular basis. Read the whole post here.

From Church Marketing Sucks - There's probably 718,000 churches in America that offer free breakfast. The catch? You have to come on Sundays, be greeted and stick around for the service. Westchester Church looked to take a different approach. Every Friday morning before 8:00, you can drop by their parking lot (at the corner of a busy intersection) for some free breakfast. From Stephen Webb's blog: "We show up at daybreak, set up a table, unload the signs, cones, coolers, and muffins, and invite the traffic. We have about 3-9 people on the street holding signs and waving them in. We have about 2-5 people handing out the free stuff. It takes about 20 seconds to take an order and have them on their way. Every morning we have new people. And we hear each week that “This absolutely makes my day.” Free stuff is always a great way to reach people; so is going out of your way for them. Sounds like a great combination to me.

Just a few random thoughts that have been going through my reading brain today. Enjoy.

Won by One to Jamaica Summer Staff

The summer staff of Won by One to Jamaica have started a blog. You can follow what is happening by clicking here. If you haven't been to Harmons and want a little flavor of what it is like, there is also a video that is on their blog site - watch it to get a point of view that is very different than what we experience here at home.

New Books

Here are some new books that I either purchased or were given to me in the last week. Now to figure out how I am going to read them all in the next few weeks...

The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
Classic Christianity by Bob George
The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch
It's Okay to be the Boss by Bruce Tulgan (Currently reading)
The Offsite by Robert Thompson
The Encouraging the Heart Workbook by Kouzes and Posner
Yours are the Hands of Christ by James Howell
Everybody's Normal till You Get to Know Them by John Ortberg
The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman
Permission is Granted to Do Church Differently in the 21st Century by Cooke and Goodell (Currently reading)

People know I love to read and they just give me books - I love it!!