out of (e.m.) bounds

I recently read this quote from E.M. Bounds:

"The preacher must pre-eminently be a man of prayer. His heart must graduate in the school of prayer. In the school of prayer only can the heart learn to preach. No learning can make up for the failure to pray. No earnestness, no diligence, no study, no gifts will supply its lack."

That's huge! I've been reading a lot about preaching lately. I want to be a better, more effective communicator. I feel that it's time for me to take my communicating to a new level...so I'm working at it. I've been taking steps toward it. And then I read that quote. I needed to be reminded of the importance of, the necessary marriage of preaching and prayer while preparing.

the three basic tests of mission relevance

I have these notes in my Franklin-Covey planner. What I failed to do is write down where I read this. I'm reading three books right now. No doubt, it came from one of them. Anyway, I thought this was worth sharing:

Three Basic Tests of Mission Relevance:

1. The opportunity must fit squarely in the midst of the organization's mission.
2. The enterprise must have the ability to execute on the opportunity better than any other organization.
3. The opportunity must make sense in the context of the economic engine and resources of the organization.

Wow. What if, as church leaders, we ran everything through that filter? I know churches that start new ministries all the time because they want to "meet everybody's needs."
If you've been around SFMC (soon to be NewPointe) much, you've heard it said that we're not primarily interested in meeting people's needs. Our primary concern is helping people get where they need to go (spiritually, relationally, emotionally, etc.).

That's why we don't have a lot of "programs." We're focusing on the things we want to do exeptionally well--the things we feel that God has called us to do.

I'm looking at our new college and singles environment (Aqua) through this filter. And wow, what an opportunity we have to create relevant environments to reach college and singlesomethings for Jesus Christ.

By the way, if you've been reading the same stuff as me and you remember where I got this from, shoot me and email and remind me so I can give credit where credit's due. Thanks.

Garrison Keillor Quote

I'm reading a book called The Emerging Church by Dan Kimball. Here's a quote the author uses that I'm really chewing on. Check this out:

“If you can’t go to church and at least for a moment be given transcendence, if you can’t pass briefly from this life into the next, then I can’t see why anyone would go. Just a brief moment of transcendence causes you to come out of the church a changed person.” Garrison Keillor

When we plan a weekend service or even First Wednesday, that's what we're shooting for...a transcendent moment...those moments when God just becomes so real and seems so close. I'm blessed to be a part of a church that allows for--even better--tries to creative enviroments for--transcendence.

it's all about life change

I talked to two people yesterday who each shared with me incredible stories of life-change. Here's one of them:

Last night I met with our Aqua team. One of the team members (a college-aged single) began coming to our meetings roughly six weeks ago simply because she was looking for a place to connect. Last night she shared her story.

She said she began living with a couple from our church because she needed some help and stability. They told her that one of the requirements was that she attend church with them. She told our group that she had no interest in going to church. Her picture of church included organ music and boring preachers. She said that when she came for the first time it blew her mind.

Her words:

"There was a Harley on stage! I couldn't believe it!...And there were cool
paintings of cars on the walls...and the whole Route 66 thing was
amazing."

"And then the band started playing 'Life is a Highway' and that's one
of my favorite songs and I started thinking, this place is cool."

She began attending our Aqua meetings in search of meaningful relationships. In the meantime, she attended last month's First Wednesday (Indescribable). She told us that the images and the message made her start crying uncontrollably...she said she didn't know why. She said she thought something was wrong with her until she looked around and saw others crying too.

And then last Thursday, she had lunch with my good friend, Denny Trimmer. Denny has a campus ministry at Kent State in New Philly. Denny was able to explain to her that God is at work in her life. And by the end of their lunch together, she prayed with Denny to receive Christ as her forgiver and the leader of her life.

How awesome is God that he would orchestrate things in such an incredible way in order to reach this young lady. I mean, wow, he even used a song like Life Is A Highway to get through to her.

I'm stoked.

Keep checking my blog. Maybe I'll share the other story soon.

lessons on success from the coach

Last week Hiland High School girls basketball coach Dave Schlabach visited our staff meeting to talk to us about the keys to having a successful team. Coach Schlabach is one of the top H.S. basketball coaches in the state. This year his team will be attempting to win their third straight division IV state championship.

Here are some of the highlights from his talk:

Keys to success:

• Have a strong work ethic. Be enthusiastic. Don't be what he calls an "energy zapper."
• Be very goal oriented. He says that his teams "relentlessly pursue goals." And they set the bar high...a state championship every year.
• Establish and maintain a discliplined approach. He says it's imperative to establish boundaries and consequences. He added that the most important discipline is simply doing your specific role.
• Sacrifice. There must be sacrifice involved in order for special things to happen. Discipline, he says, relates directly to sacrifice. He added this: the more you sacrifice, the less likely you are to surrender (great quote!).
• Understand your role. To do anything but your role is selfish. He gave an example of a player on his team--the shooter--passing up a shot in order to involve more teammates in the game. He said it was a selfish act because the shooter's role is to shoot the ball...because doing your role helps the team accomplish its goal.
• Surround yourself with great people. Don't be afraid to ask for their help. Allow yourself to be constantly challenged by your staff and your peers. Here's another great quote: Great vision without great people is irrelevant.

And ultimately, in order to successful as a team, you must:

• believe in yourself
• believe in your teammates
• believe in your coach

the lord's prayer

I've been studying a lot about prayer lately. God, I feel, is using several things to revolutionize my prayer life. One of the things he's using is sermon prep. I'm preaching this weekend and the focus of my talk will be on the Lord's Prayer. It's a prayer we've all memorized and I think that because of that sometimes, we have a tendency to gloss over it. We shouldn't. It's huge. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus offers us a model of how we should pray. Here it is in a nutshell--it's a three-part thing (yes, this is a preview to my sermon):

• Declare God's greatness
• Surrender your will
• Acknowledge your dependence on him

A book I recommend if you want to revolutionize your prayer life: The Papa Prayer by Larry Crabb.

small groups fall kick-off

Last night was SFMC's small groups fall kick-off. It was terrific! I couldn't be more pleased with how the evening went. 273 people attended...that means 273 people have now completed phase one of the small group leaders' training (Origins).

There are a whole bunch of people who contributed to make the night a huge success. Here are a few I'd like to thank:

First of all, my unbelievable staff: Scott Bell and Teresa Raber. They deserve the most credit. They worked their tails off. I've said this before: I get way too much credit. The real heroes are Scott and Teresa. They are simply the best. Great job guys!

Drama team (led by Bick Miller)...OUTSTANDING! Thanks a million!

Dwight Mason (the main man)...homerun! Dwight inspired us, challenged us, and motivated a whole bunch of us to step up and lead a small group.

John Carpenter and Newhouse Printing: great job on the Origins training booklet. I love it.

Patty Mason...very few know how hard she works to make us look good on stage. Her attention to detail is amazing.

Jim Raber. He puts up with me by allowing his wife (Teresa) to work so hard. And he is always more than willing to pitch in.

The set-up and tear down crew. It's a huge job to move 600 chairs and set up round tables for 300 people. You guys rock!

The Fellowship One check-in team. Thanks to them we not only know how many attended, but we have excellent records of who attended.

The tech team. They're second to none.

And finally, everyone who attended. Thanks for coming guys! You're the one who really made last night's event such a special one.

let's ride

Mike Dennis is the senior pastor at Canton First Church of the Nazarene. He's also a very good friend of mine. In fact, he married Jenny and I in 1990. He's also a biker. And his church is down with the whole biker scene.

On September 24, they'll be having their annual "Biker Sunday." It'll be great. I'm organizing a ride...and everyone (who has a motorcycle) is invited. Here's the plan: We'll meet at Adventure Harley Davidson in Dover at 8:30 a.m. and ride to Canton together. I'm hoping we can get 50 bikes. Won't that be cool?

Registration starts at 9:30. We'll attend the service and then anyone who wants to stick around can participate in the special ride being organized by Mike and his team. Just plan on making a day of it.

Email me if you have questions.

aqua

In 2007 NewPointe is launching a new gig for college/singles called Aqua. The name comes from John 7:37-38:

...Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to
me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of
living water will flow from within him."

That's what we want to be about. We want to be a people so full of Christ, so in tune with his Spirit that streams of living water (aqua) flow from within us.

There isn't much available to college/singles (ages 21-30) in our area. Nothing they can claim is uniquely theirs. We think Aqua can be such a thing. Our goal is to create an environment that offers bibical truth and meaningful worship. And ultimately, we want to impact a generation for Christ. We want to transform the culture, our families...the world.

The overarching idea is that Aqua is a foyer environment--the first step toward small group participation for 18-30somethings, because we're convinced that life-change happens best within the conext of authentic biblical community.

So as I've been preparing to launch this deal, I've been meeting with about 15 college/single people for insight, advice, and buy-in. It's been going great. I've also been reading quite a bit in an effort to better understand their culture, postmodernism, post-Christianity, etc. In my reading today I came across this quote (relating the the kind of worship experience we want to create):

"If you can't go to church (or Aqua) and at least for a moment be given transcendence, if you can't pass briefly from this life to the next, then I can't see why anyone should go. Just a brief moment of transcendence causes you to come out of a church a changed person." Garrison Keillor

That's huge! Here's what I hope Aqua looks like: I envision a worship experience that doesn't reek of the contemporary evangelical form of Christianity...no gimmicks, no hype, no cheerleading...just a flat-out, unapologetic, Christ-focused event that young people can copmpletely connect with.

Aqua. Thirst no more.