It's About People

On January 7th and 8th Pastor Dave gave one of the most inspiring vision messages I have ever heard. I told him Monday that if I wasn’t already on board here at Charter Oak Church, I would be now. I was moved by his passion to reach new people for Jesus and to develop our own people to be fully devoted followers of Jesus. Pastor Dave laid out a plan to reach new people by targeting children and youth. If we can successfully introduce Jesus into these young people’s lives, their parents will want to know why their kids have changed.

This past weekend we broke a new record for attendance on a “regular” Sunday. There were 607 people in worship! I was so excited. Pastor Dave jumped into my office to tell me the figure. He was definitely pumped up about the news. A week after his vision message and people were already responding. At the end of each worship service I challenged each person to invite people in their circle of influence – friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members, to join them in worship. After one of the worship services, someone grabbed me and said if people listen to me, we will have to start setting up chairs! It sounded like he was genuinely excited about that possibility.

How awesome would it be to have so many people in worship that we had to start setting up chairs! Then I started thinking about some conversations I have had with pastor friends of mine. They get on my case when I start talking about our church growing and reaching more people. They tell me I am all about the numbers. I will be honest with you, it frustrates me when they say that. I do want to celebrate when we reach a new milestone like breaking the 600 mark in worship attendance. But I don’t celebrate the number, I celebrate the people. For me, it’s all about the people.

I am called by God to introduce people into a relationship with Jesus and then to help them to become more like Him in every aspect of their lives down to the last detail. That’s why I live. What about you? If we continue to grow in our current building and we have to set up chairs, will you be willing to sit in a chair instead of a pew? Would you be willing to sit on the front pew and park farther away from the building? Would you be willing to change worship times to allow more guests to sit comfortably in our sanctuary? These are tough questions, but for me, they are easy, because it’s all about people coming into a relationship with Jesus.

God is at work at Charter Oak Church!

Monday Morning QB 1/23/06

Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:

Message: Tear It Down (Chris Preached)

Scripture: Luke 7:36-50

Service Highlights: This message was the second part of a four part series based on the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. This week we looked at tearing down the old stuff in our lives by truly repenting of our sins. Bill Gates wrote a song specifically for this message, it was right on and powerful.

Stats: 568 in worship + 261 in Sunday school

Final Notes: Next weekend is the Children's Musical on Saturday night and Sunday morning at 11:00am. I will only be preaching at 8:15 & 9:30.

Monday Morning QB 1/16/06

Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:

Message: No One Is Perfect (Chris preached)

Scripture: Romans 3:21-23

Service Highlights: We kicked off our new series Extreme Makeover. This was the first part of four. We broke 600 in worship for the first time!

Stats: 607 in worship + 236 in Sunday school

Final Notes: I challenged everyone to invite someone to come with them next week that needs an extreme makeover in their life, their marrigae, and/or their family.

The Importance of What We Do

Here are some thoughts that have been rattling around in my head this week:

1. There was a definite buzz this weekend

I could sense within the people in worship this past weekend that they were excited about the vision for 2006. There was an energy level present that if built upon will create momentum that we have not had here for some time.

2. The power of a clearly and passionately communicated vision

When people can see a preferred picture of the future that is compelling and exciting they will sign up. I have had many conversations with people who are pumped about this year.

3. Making the vision a reality

The first part of the vision is to reach our county through teens and children. There are 370,000 people and 211,000 of them are unchurched. Our vision is to reach 1% of those people - 2,110. The question becomes, who are we making relationships with that are not attending church right now? The challenge was that 100 people will bring one person each by the end of the year. Who are we praying for that doesn't know Jesus?

The second part of the vision is to reach our full giving potential. If the 400 giving units gave ten percent of the median income of our area, we would meet our budget and pay off our new building in 5 years. As leaders we must model the biblical call to give that ten percent.

4. Good to Great

A good friend of mine told me he recently read the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. He said he wished he hadn't read it because it gave voice to the leadership gap at his church. His level of expectation was raised by reading this book and he realized that they don't have what it takes to make the leap from good to great.

5. Importance of Excellence

Some people I have been praying for who are far from God went to church for the first time the first weekend of the year. They said the preaching was great, but the words on the screen never were in line with what the band was singing. They won't return because of a lack of commitment to excellence, they didn't express it that way, but that is what was behind their words. They said that the pastor apologized for the error, but it doesn't matter, the damage is done. I don't know if those people will ever try church again. Excellence is what may determine if people far from God will be open to what God wants to do in them and through them. It is critical.

The implication of these thoughts is that what we do as leaders has Kingdom realities.

Monday Morning QB 1/9/06

Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:

Message: Continuing to Respond to God's Call (Dave preached)

Scripture: Acts 2:42-27

Service Highlights: Dave cast the vision for Charter Oak Church for 2006. We are going to focus on two things - reaching children and teens and reaching our giving potential. It was a very powerful message.

Stats: 574 in worship + 249 in Sunday school

Final Notes: Next week we kick off a new series called Extreme Makeover. We showed a promo video at all of the services to gain momentum going into the weekend.

End of the 1st Week

It's the end of the first week of the year. We are gearing up for the launch of our new building in September. The steel is being delivered today. We could be under roof in less than a month. Things are moving fast. The pace of speed here is going to continue to grow at an exponential rate over the next six months.

What would I say to myself in six months? There is now a new website that allows you to send yourself an email into the future. http://futureme.org/index.php

What would I write to myself? What questions would I ask myself on what I need to accomplish in the next six months? I think I would begin with, "Did you stay faithful to God's call on your life?" There are so many details that need to be done, it would be interesting to put down some of the keys ones to make sure I am getting them done.

I am really thinking now.

Start with God

Psalm 1

How well God must like you -
you don't hang out at Sin Saloon,
you don't slink along Dead-End Road,
you don't go to Smart-Mouth College.

Instead you thrill to God's Word,
you chew on Scripture day and night.
You're a tree replanted in Eden,
bearing fresh fruit every month,
never dropping a leaf,
always in blossom.

You're not at all like the wicked,
who are mere windblown dust -
Without defense in court,
unfit company for innocent people.

God charts the road you take.
The road they take is Skid Row.

Psalm 1 is the beginning of this collection of prayers and songs. This is the beginning of the New Year. This Psalm says there is a difference between beginning with God and not. It is the difference between life and death.

People say they want the true life offered in God's word. We will make resolutions this week and keep them at least through next week. But that's not the life that is offered here. The Psalmist goes back to Eden, where the relationship between God and people was perfect. The life that lived was a oneness, an intimacy with God.

Eden and Skid Row are far apart. Monthly fruit production and constant bloom are far from windblown dust. For most of us, we are some where in between. In between is not what God wants, it is not what we long for, but it is where we usually are.

It all begins with God - thrilling in God's word, chewing on it day and night.

Monday Morning QB 1/2/06

Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:

Message: Wesley Covenant Service (Dave led)

Scripture: Various passages through worship

Service Highlights: Worship on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with Communion - great way to end and kick off the year!

Stats: 275 (No Sunday school)

Final Notes: Communion was available until midnight on New Year's Eve.

Monday Morning QB 12/26/05

Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:

Christmas Eve
Message: Traveling (5:00 & 9:00) (Chris Preached)
Christmas 365 Days a Year (7:00 & 11:00) (Dave Preached)

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20 (Chris)
Luke 1:26-38

Service Highlights: We had a fantastic Christmas Eve at Charter Oak Church. I did a children's sermon at the 5:00 service for nearly 100 kids. The whole night just felt right. The presence of God was evident. People heard the Good News.

Stats: 1075 total for all four services.

Final Notes: This will be our final Christmas Eve at this building. The need for an overflow room for the overflow room will not be necessary next year, but it would be nice if we did.

Christmas Day
Message: We heard two people share a bit about their faith journey.

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Service Highlights: Hearing about people's walk with Christ on Christmas Day clarifies why we do what we do. The two stories were very different, but we all are different - in how we got here and what God is doing in us and through us.

Stats: 169 (No Sunday school)

Monday Morning QB 12/19/05

Here's the Monday morning QB for this week:

Message: The Purpose of Christmas (Dave Preached)

Scripture: 1 John 1:1-4

Service Highlights: Pastor Dave really brought home the point of why we tell people "Merry Christmas." As controversial as it has become to speak those words in today's society, it defines who we are because of the incarnation. Dave closed the message with a powerful clip from "It's a Wonderful Life."

Stats: 506 in worship + 161 in Sunday school

Final Notes: Christmas Eve worship is this Saturday at 5:00, 7:00, 9:00, & 11:00. We will also have one Christmas day worship service at 10:30am.

For the Sake of the Mission

"The North American church has lost its influence at this critical juncture. It has lost its influence becuase it has lost its identity. It has lost its identity because it has lost its mission." Reggie McNeal, The Present Future

The mission of Charter Oak Church is to reach out to those searching and nurture believers to be fully devoted followers of Jesus. That's what we are called to do and to be. That's why each one of us has been hired. That's what every decision we make should be filtered through - does this help make our mission happen? Why is this our mission? Because...

A recent study pegged church attenance at only 26% of Americans. George Barna reports that the unchurched population has grown from 24 to 34 percent in just one decade. Since 1991, the number of unchurched women has risen from 18 to 30%. The number of unchurched in the Northeast is up from 26 to 38%. 90 percent of kids active in high school youth groups do not go to church by the time they are sophomores in college. One-third of these will never return.

"The church's mission is to join God in his redemptive efforts to save the world. People all around us are in darkness. They are going to die unless someone finds a way to connect them to Jesus. The trouble is, the church is sleeping on the job. Too many of us have forgotten why we showed up for work. Even worse, many of us never have known."

Seeing the mission fulfilled begins here, with us as the leaders of this church.

The Amazon Reading Plan

I was just on amazon.com and it gave me three suggested books for me to read next.



I was so excited that I have read one of them (The Present Future), I have another one waiting to be read (Blue Like Jazz), and I am a great fan of the author of other one (The Barbarian Way). It amazes me that Amazon can create a platform that actually can represent books that I would read.

Now if only we could do the same thing for people in the church when it comes to spiritual development, serving opportunities, and leadership growth.

Thanks for Nothing

What happens when we don't have vision - nothing.

Check out this photo from Nothing, Arizona.

















I hope that we never become a church of nothing.

Who/What Are We Teaching?

Howard Hendricks writes, "God never called us to teach the Bible. He called us to teach people the Bible. So study your Bible, but before you teach it, make sure you also study your people."

Light Bearers

"You're here to be light, bringing out the God colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hill top, on a light stand - shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:14-16 (The Message)

Monday Morning QB 12/12/05

Here's the Monday morning QB for this week:

Message: Getting Sober for Christmas (Dave Preached)

Scripture: Luke 3:2-18

Service Highlights: This weekend was the Christmas Cantata. The choir performed three concerts. The music, the drama, and the narration were phenominal. I am certain that this will launch the people of our church into the Christmas season.

Stats: 819 worship + 161 Sunday school

Final Notes: We asked people to step up to make enough cookies to give to the workers at our new building site 2-3 dozen each.

Clarifying the Win

Andy Stanley writes in 7 Practices of Effective ministry, "The church should be more determined than any other kind of organization to 'clarify the win' simply because the stakes are so much higher: Eternity hangs in the balance."

Keeping score is so important today. We talk about the score of the Steelers game. We talk about how many yards Jerome Bettis rushed for, Hines Ward received, and Big Ben threw for in yesterday's game. The same is true in today's church. Pastors have a scorecard that we keep on each other. It looks something like this: How many members do you have? How many people in worship on a weekend? How many kids and youth do you have? What is the size of your budget? What is the size of your campus? We measure so many things - so many of the wrong things for the wrong reasons.

How can we possibly succeed if we are measuring the wrong things? So if the things on the typical scorecard are wrong, then what should we be measuring?

I was always taught that the things you measure are the things that get done. If I can define for someone what they have to do to succeed they can better evaluate themselves and I can better help them to achieve those results. However, we try to complicate things, we actually dilute what we are doing to the point that we don't know what we are supposed to be doing. Every time we do that in the church, we lose people.

We need to define who it is we are trying to serve. We should be unapologetic about who we are serving and why we are serving them - that's focus. Then we can get out of the way of the leaders and let them serve those specifically defined people in creative ways. Then we will see lives changed, that's the business that we are in.

Pushing the Excellence Envelope

"Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
- William Faulkner

"People would always say to my father, 'Gee whiz, you've done real well. Now you can rest.' And he would reply, 'Oh, no. Got to keep going and do it better.'"
- J. Willard Marriott, Jr., Chairman, Marriott, 1987.

What will it take on Monday morning to push through the excellence envelope to be great? What do we need to accomplish during the next quarter to say that it was successful? Questions I am pondering and quotes that are challenging me as I look toward 2006.

What Defines Failure?

I am a huge Pittsburgh Steelers' fan. The Steelers have dominated the last couple of years, especially in their own division - the AFC North. The Steelers have defeated the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Baltimore Ravens easily the last few years.

The Steelers lost to the Bengals on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time in like five years. Now every sports' writer that I read says that the domination is over. The Steelers ability to push the Bengals around is over. I don't understand.

How does one game say that nearly five years of winning is now over? What defines failure? Can years of success be eliminated so quickly?

If we have a consistent level of growth at our church and then we have a Sunday that we don't hit it out of the park, does that mean we are headed for a losing streak? Should one game define a team? It appears it does in sports' writers eyes. I hope we never give into such thinking at Charter Oak Church.

Monday Morning QB 12/5/05

Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:

Message: God Is with Us - I preached

Scripture: Mark 5:13-16 (The Message)

Service Highlights: I talked about God's call in our lives to be light in the darkness of this world. I focused in on the six things that can hide our light. At the Saturday night worship service, I accidentally caught my sweater on fire when lighting a candle. Comments heard throughout the weekend, "He's on fire for Jesus."

Stats: 486 worship + 226 Sunday school
It was a sleeting and snowing throughout the morning.

Final Notes:
That was my last sermon for a while. I will be preaching twice on Christmas Eve, but Dave will be preaching each weekend until the third week of January.