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YES!

April 8, 2009 in Blog with 0 Comments

YES! seriesI have been working on some details with our LifePoint team for our new series that starts this Sunday called YES! Pat will be challenging people to put their “yes on the table”. It is hard for me to contain the excitement of what God has in store for people of Middle TN, LifePoint’ers, and even me over the next three weeks.

As I was doing some writing for our website and series today, here are some things I realized:

Each day, Jesus said ‘YES!’ to His Father and His mission
Each day, Jesus said ‘YES!’ to serve the needs of the people around Him
Each day, Jesus said ‘YES!’ to the opportunities to help and teach his friends
In the Garden, He said ‘YES!’ the Father’s plan
On good Friday, Jesus said ‘YES!’ to the Cross and being our sacrifice
On the Cross, Jesus said ‘YES!’ to the thief beside Him that he would be in Heaven
On the most important Sunday in human history, Jesus said NO! to death and ‘YES!’ to life….and to us

My Question for you: What is the biggest ‘YES!’ you have said to Jesus recently? For me, it was going to Guinea, Africa.

What I Discovered about LifePoint while I was in Africa

March 23, 2009 in Blog with 0 Comments

  1. We have incredible leaders: my team leader for this trip, Scott, has a demanding professional job, a wife, 3 boys; yet, he and his wife planned the logistics of our trip, got us prepped, & are on the forefront of creating a movement in another country.
  2. We have incredible Global partners: Perry & Donna, our host family, were phenomenal. Their wisdom, work, and energy were amazing. The influence of our partners, Darryl and Glenda, in the city where we stayed was impressive. It is obvious the relational impact that are making for Christ. Bottomline, missionaries have an awesome calling and they work their tails off.
  3. God had given LifePoint an effective and inspiring vision and strategy to glorify God in the nations.
  4. The people of LifePoint don’t just talk missions, we do it.
  5. LifePoint’ers are hardworkers and willingly to roll up their sleeves and serve.
  6. Our strategy of invest and invite (winning the right to be heard, relational evangelism) works in other cultures, too. Obviously, it is effective because we are building upon how God has wired us (all people).
  7. We have a great staff team! Thankful that they can allow me to be gone for 10 days to experience this trip. It has been a blast celebrating God’s continued work with them.

So, if you don’t have a passport yet, get one. You need to have your perspective and heart for the Lord shaped by going to Africa, Belgium, China, Brazil, India… If you want to hear more about LifePoint’s Global strategy, come to the Sending Church Conference.

Today is a National Holiday

March 19, 2009 in Blog with 0 Comments

For a long time now, I have realized that today, the third Thursday of March is a National Holiday. Why today? Sill question I know because it is the first Thursday of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tourney. Yes, it has yet to be officially recognized by the government, but I think it is only a matter of time. Our current president is adding a basketball court to the White House and has completed his own bracket. I can see a recognized holiday passed through Congress in the near future so that as a country we can celebrate this day as a country. Think of it as another day of Thanksgiving as a country:

  • it’s on a Thursday
  • we gather with family and friends
  • we eat a lot
  • filled with tradition: fight songs, streaks, brackets, watching a lot of TV
  • it celebrates the uniqueness of our country and unifies us around our brackets
  • it is the beginning of a second holiday season starting with March Madness and culiminating with the Masters
  • unlike all of the sleeping on Thanksgiving, we get to sit on the edge of our seat for the little guy to beat the powerhouse (not many things more American than that, plus it reminds of the Bible…David and Goliath)

Thank you for joining me in this crusade to bring today, the third Thursday of March to its rightful place as a National Holiday. And yes, there is still time to participate in its most holy of practices for this day, completing your bracket. Need some strategies on how to pick your Final Four and Champion? Here are a few ideas:

  • Choose teams with the most potential NBA players
  • Teams that are heavy with senior starters
  • Choose a team with the more dominant mascot
  • Pick teams with better talent at the guard positions (a.k.a. point guard, shooting guard or 1 & 2 guards)
  • Pick teams from stronger conferences
  • Choose the school with the better fight song
  • Chooses teams with better winning records against the top 50 teams in the country
  • Go for teams with a good record on the road
  • Pick schools that have the strongest schedules
  • Pick based upon the school’s location and where you would whether live between the two schools
  • And yes, the school with better team colors, not sure it is legitimate but it works

If you need a place to complete your bracket go here. Of course, you can view the winning bracket. Happy Holiday!

For Just One Hour a Week

March 18, 2009 in Blog with 0 Comments

Last night at LifePoint, our Worship Programming Staff hosted a St. Patrick’s Day Party to celebrate the volunteers in our Worship Programming Division. The Worship, Production, First Impressions, and Communications volunteers partner with our staff each week to create a compelling and relevant environment for people to engage and respond to God every week. We created the Party so we could laugh together, celebrate together and say thank you.

We are blessed at LifePoint to have amazing volunteers. It is a reminder that the church is not a building but the people of God gathering together to accomplish His mission in the world. David created this video to show all the dedication and passion that goes into creating a weekly worship service at LifePoint. On Sunday, we currently have 3 services and at the rate of growth we are experiencing (29% YTD), we will have more soon. I amazed and grateful for the 130+ people on average each week that give 800+ hours to create our weekly services so people in Middle TN can be pointed to a Christ-Centered Life. 800+ hours for 1 incredible hour each week to connect to 1 amazing God!

How do you see the world?

March 10, 2009 in Blog with 0 Comments

Still getting my mind around my recent global experience…the opportunities, the needs, and the people. It is often hard of us in our comfortable corners in the U.S. to get our arms around what is happening in different nations and continents (and honestly, on the other side of town, too).

I am thankful for what God is stirring in the church to reach the nations. In about a 5 week span, there are teams from LifePoint going to West Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Mexico, Brazil, Belgium, Seattle, and the Gulf Coast. I kicked off a conversation with fellow pastor from an innovative church in South Carolina dialoguing on how to use technology to advance missions strategies. I have a college bud who just went to Italy on the mission field full-time. Just learned about a friend and one of my childhood basketball coaches who is on the field in Nigeria. Talked to another mentor and friend serving on the mission field asking me to give my two-cents on how he can mobilize student to reach the Americas (now that is a to do list item)! Wow!

How do you see the world? Six billion people are on the planet. If we reduce that population to 100 people, proportionately:

• 57 of those people come from Asia
• 21 from Europe
• 14 from North and South America
• 8 from Africa
• 49 would be women
• 51 would be men
• 68 would still not be able to read and write
• 6 of those people would own 50% of the world’s wealth and all of those would be U.S. citizens
• 1 of those people would have just been born
• 1 of those people is about to die
• Only 1 of those people have been to college

Thanks to Rob for sharing these numbers (another pastor who is leading his church to impact the globe).

You are Talking about THAT in Church

March 4, 2009 in Blog with 0 Comments

Kem Meyer ‘tweeted‘ today, “Sex is MAJOR ‘head in sand’ issue. People make bad decisions on bad information & suffer alone. It should be talked about in church more.” I AGREE!

I am blessed to be at a church that believes we must tackle the real issues of life and address them from the Truth of God’s Word. On Sundays, we are dealing with the topic of sex, marriage, etc. through an incredible series called Love Dare. The content is driven by the Old Testament book of Song of Solomon. Plus, our student ministry is helping students navigate the turubulent waters of teenage relationships, sex, etc. with their series Love Sick. Tonight they are having a panel of adults answer questions submitted by students—what an awesome idea…it shows students that we care about what they are dealing with and that God’s Truth is relevant even in 2009.

What the Church can learn from IKEA

March 4, 2009 in Blog with 0 Comments

A few years ago, with the help of my wife, I became a fan of IKEA. Since then, I have shared the wisdom with others of all things IKEA. It is rather simple to become a fan of this international home goods retalier: innovative products that work great in your home at smart prices, great design, and some good food while you shop, too.

Over the last few months, for one reason or another, I have ended up swinging through IKEA’s Atlanta store and it caused me to think about: ‘What the Church can learn from IKEA’:

  1. Focus on the Experience — distinct, focused brand; great signage; incredible first impressions
  2. Give a Picture of Results — as you walk through the ‘showroom’, there are several places where you can see a setup of all the IKEA gear in a space based on square footage. In the church, would it help people move to spiritual maturity if we give them clearer pictures of a spiritual growth destination? They think so.
  3. Take Care of Kids — throughout their stores, IKEA has kid-friendly & family-friendly experiences. There is a whole department for kids furnishings and gear, toy areas, a kid hangout spot in their restaurant, family restrooms, and even childcare where kids will have a multi-sensory experience while their parents shop. For the church, investing in kids’ ministry is huge. If you don’t get kids’ ministry right, there is going to be a lot wrong in your church.
  4. Have a Great Web Experience
  5. Add Value to People’s Life — people invest their time and money in things that add value to their life. Millions of people shop at IKEA because their products and experience give value to people when compared to competitors where people could spend their money. For people to invest themselves in the church versus a hobby, sleeping late, etc. they have to experience added value to their life. Is your church creating a compelling vision and value to your attendess’s lives?
  6. Customizable — the possibilities of products and the options at times can be endless when shopping at IKEA. In our culture today, we are seeing that people’s faith journey is different and individual; and while process is crucial, everyone’s journey will not be the same. Our faith journey is more relational and organic, not step 1, step 2, etc.
  7. Accessible to Diverse Cultures — The products and experience of IKEA is truly international. It appeals to so many cultures because they are intentional in communicating to many, they have a level of excellence and value that speaks to all cultures, and what they have everyone at one point or another needs. In the church, no matter the culture, we have what everyone needs (a relationship with Christ), when we strive for excellence our message it is appealing to all cultures, and we should make sure our message is received by and touches all nations.
  8. Pay Attention to Details
  9. Mulitple Points of Contact — for IKEA, that is the web, catalog, and their stores. For the church, our campuses, the web, of course, but more opportunities like: local/community ministry projects, relationships/invites, multi-campus strategy, ‘Matthew parties’, simply being incarnational in our neighborhoods

Obviously, I am an IKEA fan and with good reason. More importantly, I am a fan of the local church with great reason. Because of that, I believe other fans of the local church should look everywhere and at everything to see how the church can bee as effective as possible in our mission.
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