Wow, What a Year!

Pastor asked us to share our favorite moment of 2007 this morning in our weekly Momentum Monday and I sat stunned. I couldn't come up with a highlight!

Instead, I had hundreds of highlights streaming through my head. The fact is, this has been the most impactful, life-altering, jaw-dropping year of my life. I have taken more steps, made and kept more commitments, and seen more at Elevation than I can remember ever experiencing in a single year. Here's a brief list...off the top of my head:

January's GroupLink saw the number of Small Groups at Elevation Church double from 25 to 50.

February, we celebrated our 1 year anniversary with 1,200.

March, I came on Part-Time at Elevation.

April, I came on Full-time at Elevation as the Community Groups Pastor and Elevation Church started a second campus in under 40 days.

May, I graduated from Seminary having completed 97 hours in 3 years.

June, my first son was born.

July, we had our first Community Groups Current where I called all the leaders together to share the vision for the rest of 2007. We also had staff advance where we set the goal of seeing 10,000 people in 2010 worshipping at Elevation church.

August, we kicked off our Dominate campaign that culminated in commitments totaling 6.4 million dollars over 2 years.

September's GroupLink saw the groups structure almost double again to over 80 groups. October, we re-launched a Community Outreach initiative that will result in hundreds of thousands of dollars being strategically sewn back into our city.

November, we pulled together all five services and 2,500 people for one service under a tent.

December, we joined forces with New Birth Charlotte at the Cricket Arena where well over 5,000 people worshipped with us.

Some of the things I've left out include: over 400 people being baptized during our Deep series and over 1,100 people making commitments for Christ since February! It's been a good year!

The funny thing is, it's just the beginning!

When Jesus died the disciples were left with the sense that all that had been accomplished was done. They looked around, saw that the kingdom had not come (at least in the way they had expected it to come) and they went back to fishing. Then Pentecost! I would imagine that Peter was tired after his 3 year sprint with Jesus in the most revolutionary and miraculous 3 year ministry that has ever occurred. But it wasn't until the torch was handed over after Jesus' resurrection and ascension that the real fireworks began. On Pentecost, Peter, the fisherman, preached a sermon that saw 3,000 people saved in the midst of tongues of fire. Peter, defended the gospel in front of the Sanhedrin in a way that confounded the religious leaders of his day. Elevation, in the words of our Pastor, "We ain't seen nothing yet!" 2008 is full of opportunity all we have to do is keep our heads up, our hands open and our feet moving.

The Starving Artist

Welcome to another installment of Friday's Fun Family Facts.

Disclaimer: be aware that most of my memories have been tempered by long years of neglect. The people in these posts should be held innocent until proven guilty. I am not posting allegations, but rather, experiences. Continue at your own risk...

So I mentioned Willum - the fund-raiser-candy-stealing-starving-artist-up-from-New-York. I thought, in this installment of Friday's Fun Family Facts I might expound.

You see, Ithaca, New York is one of the largest small towns in the country. Because of the two major Universities in Ithaca, Cornell, and Ithaca College (yes, the one from Road Trip) there was an unprecedented number of famous and powerful people in Ithaca. For instance, Carl Sagan the famous evolutionary proponent and John Peter O'Grady - you know famous and powerful... (I don't remember which country, but while I was in high school the King of a country in Asia graduated from Cornell and there was a huge celebration in his honor.)

Anyway, it was because of this draw that people would find themselves in Ithaca. Willum was, I suppose, one of those people. He was your typical artist. Long blond hair, earthy, smelled like roots, and enjoyed our company long after we enjoyed his.

On one particular trip - which if my memory serves me correctly, there were only two - he happened to be in our home during the annual student council candy selling fund-raiser.

My house was located directly across the street from about 5 different mobile home parks so when fund-raising or trick-or-treating time came around I was usually pretty confident that I would find success. This particular year I had pre-ordered extra boxes of candy to sell under the auspice that I would be able to unload twice as much candy as the poor schlubb that sat next to me in my 4th grade class.

So there I was, young, naive and vulnerable to the conniving of the starving artist up from New York. I don't know how he did it, but the man ended up eating about $10.00 worth of candy. Times were tough!

The unforeseen and damaging result of this experience on my young heart was that for the rest of my candy-selling, school-attending years I had lost my swagger. No longer did I eagerly jump to the front of the line to get the extra box. No, from then on, I was deflated, depressed and defeated. Willum stole so much more then candy that day, he stole my future - at least the part that would have increased my chances of becoming the next Willy Wonka. I'm just saying...

Tune in next week for...something else.

The Selfishness Test

The directional staff of Elevation Church has been reading The Life You've Always Wanted by John Ortberg. In a section dealing with our tendency to dwell too much on ourselves he makes a few statements that when compiled make a pretty good selfishness test. So here you go! Each time you answer 'yes' to a question, you're selfish. Each time you answer 'no' you probably misunderstood the question, you should review it and reconsider your answer...

1) When someone gives you a compliment do you accept it because it really is true or because you believe it's true?

2) Do you allow what others might be thinking of you to play a role in how you act?

3) When you worry about what others are thinking about you do you really believe that what you think they're thinking really is what their thinking?

4) While taking this little quiz, have you been arguing with the questions trying to figure out whether they really are measuring selfishness because you have answered 'yes' to at least one of them and you don't want to be considered selfish?

Bonus: (taken from Paul Reiser's Couplehood - from the chapter "The Selfish Monster")

5) When driving in heavy traffic are you prone to blame the person immediately in front of you for all of the congestion even if there is bumper to bumper traffic from you to Washington D.C.?

Every time you answered 'yes' to one of these questions you scored a (-1). If you answered a 'no' you scored a (-1)...there is a 2 point deduction for lying...

Here's the problem with something like selfishness when we finally do something that is unselfish everything in us screams for someone to recognize that we did it, unselfishly...There really doesn't seem to be any way out of the cycle. So what do we do?

Well, the good news is I know what you can do, but if I told you then the playing field would be level again. I can't win without a competitive advantage, so you're on your own, Bucky!

By the way, I scored a (-5), how did you do?

Hope and a Future

If I told you that I knew a person whose actions were going to directly impact your future success or failure would you believe me? Would you want to meet this person?

What if I told you that by performing a single act of kindness you would be able to eradicate poverty in our city, would you believe me? Would you do it?

Here's the problem: It is very difficult to accept that extraordinary things can happen. Most of us live our lives day in and day out and don't ever experience extraordinary things. We have, by repeated exposure to regularness, gotten used to the status quo; we think that's all there is. We think things like, My family was dysfunctional yesterday and I don't see any way to change things today so I expect that it will be the same tomorrow. Or things like, that community has always had a crime issue and there doesn't seem to be anything that can be done about it so why bother. The problem is, that's just not the way God built His universe!

It's possible that God could use a single guy to free a nation from slavery. Or maybe, that he would use a kid's lunch to feed thousands of people. I've read stories about my God healing an ostracized blind man who then stood before the government officials in his city and created mass upheaval in a firmly entrenched religious system. Wasn't it our God that turned a rag-tag bunch of lowly renegade fishermen and tax collectors into a team of men that led the most revolutionary religious overthrow in history? Maybe I'm wrong but I think I remember a guy in Scripture who in a single moment was changed from the most zealous opponent of Christianity into a man who brought that message of hope to the rest of the world.

I don't know what God has in mind for your life. I don't even know what He has in mind for mine, but it seems to me that spending the rest of our lives acting as though there is no plan is a really crappy idea. If we agreed that God might have an extraordinary future for us and began structuring our life according to that belief what's the worst than could happen?

Maybe, if you're so blessed, you'd find yourself, like Mother Teresa, with nothing, in the midst of thousands of hurting children in a never ending pursuit to cure diseases, care for orphans, and feed the hungry. I might be a little off-center but isn't that better then making sure you catch the next season of your favorite TV show? Just a thought! (Jeremiah 29:11)

Our Greatest Resource

I had the wonderful privilege of meeting with some great guys for lunch yesterday. The topic: How do we structure a leader identification and development process that will keep pace with the growth of our church? We didn't come away with any earth shattering breakthroughs or any master plans, however, something I've been learning lately is that the meeting itself was probably all the breakthrough we needed...let me explain.

At some point in the last 4 months I met with the small groups pastor of a very large church. The overwhelming impression I was left with after speaking with him for a couple hours was that he had short-circuited what could be accomplished through the ministry he was leading by focusing on his lack of resources.

I had a very poor response to him at the time and I'm a little embarrassed thinking back on it - I made up some analogy about if all you're given is a stick at least you can start a fire. What I really meant was that no matter what resources you have the objective is still the same when you're dealing with building community; accomplish the impossible! Drawing people closer to the Lord through relationships with each other is not something we can do in our own strength. The best we can hope for is a system that encourages people to take the right steps. But any system we create once we put people in it is going to break down. Good systems build themselves on consistent variables and people are anything but a consistent variable.

I'm excited about yesterday's meeting because far beyond any budget restraints, or staffing shortages I might be experiencing, my greatest lack of resource is, and always will be, in the area of leadership. The ministry that I am leading is far greater then my ability to lead it alone. I always say to people who ask that God wants His people to know Him far more then I do and He will find a way to make it happen. What I often forget is that God doesn't work in a vacuum, he works through people.

When I sat back and added up the leadership potential and experience represented by the men that God brought to the table yesterday what I already believed became more concrete; the leadership shortage has more solutions then simply hiring more staff! The exciting part about yesterday's lunch meeting is that there are dozens of people just like the guys I met with yesterday that are passionate about seeing the people of Elevation filled with life in Christ. All that's left for me to do is empower you to own the vision and provide an environment to unlock your giftedness. I can work toward that!!!

Under New Management

My Friend Greg Lineberger once made a profound observation that I'd like to share with you. On his way home from work he has to pass a Palm reader's shop. On this particular day there was a sign in the Palm reader's window that read:

"Under New Management"

As he was telling me about this incident he remarked - "I bet she didn't see that coming!"

(If you don't get it, you should probably find a different blog to read - because that's funny!)

Why do I think this is so funny? Well, maybe because it reflects me a lot more then I like to admit. It always seems like I'm the last one to notice the things that everyone else sees pretty easily. (For a better treatment of this topic you can read up on it here).

The truth is, we're all this way. Most of us think we're pulling one over on the world and that they can't tell our palm reader shop is falling into ruin. If we can live like we don't have it all figured out - even if we don't know how deep our ignorance runs - then we'll be more likely to accept needed correction and make changes. Proverbs 27:6 says wounds from a friend can be trusted but an enemy multiplies kisses.

I guess the point is pretty simple, Even if you're a great palm reader that doesn't garrauntee that you can run a good business. For those of us that don't claim to see the future, it seems like a wise position to stay open to help from those around us.

Fresh Perspective

I had the incredible privilege this morning of sharing about our partnership with Safe Journey, one of our strategic community outreach partners, at the board meeting for Communities in Schools, Safe Journey's umbrella agency.

Going into the meeting I felt like I was going to be agenda-item-number-two on what looked like a very long and important agenda. After a few minutes of sharing, however, it became clear that what the Lord has given us as a vision for community outreach is catching people a little off guard. I got the vague impression for the first few minutes that people were saying under their breath, "what's the catch?" But as I continued sharing the mood changed; they became genuinely excited by the partnership I was describing (you can read more about it here).

I am continually humbled by the fact that I'm hand-delivering large checks to important people who are doing great things in our city. I am even more humbled by the fact that it seemed right for me to do it! God is using our little church to pioneer some new (or at least fresh) perspective in Charlotte and it was great to be delivering the message.

Casting The Net Wide

I am not a fisherman! My shining moment in my fishing history came about 4 months ago when I caught a stingray off of Bald-Head Island with the help of a good friend. before this exhilarating 30 minute experience, however, we had to catch some bait fish. (Ken, please forgive me if any of these terms are wrong. I would hate to disparage your good fishing name and misrepresent your vast knowledge of the sport with my ignorance...)

Catching bait fish is easy enough, that is if the fish are there. All you do is put one end of the slimy detritus littered, fish smelling, plastic mesh of the casting net between your teeth at one end and then do a middle-schoolers slow dancing sway until you get the rhythm of the net in sync with your casting arm. At just the right time you release the net with a spin so that it covers the largest area possible. and then you pull the line back in and hopefully draw in some fish. Or, if you're me, you watch while Ken pulls in the fish.

At Elevation Church we are fishing in bountiful waters. Our vision centers itself on investing in our relationships and inviting people to attending a wonderful, moving and relevant worship experience. As a result of this investment of time and energy - and of God's incredible blessing on our time and energy - we are standing over pools of water that are boiling with fish - that is with people far from God ready to receive the gospel. So now what? Well, there's at least two options: 1) cast in a line and catch one fish at a time or, 2) throw out a net and catch as many as possible.

If we were to chose the line methodology we would begin to narrow our focus. Bottom feeders aren't going after the fly, and a spinner isn't going to catch the same species of fish as a grub (How am I doing Ken?). In other words, we would be forced by the nature of our method to select a particular fish before we cast in our line. On the other hand, the net catches them all. Learn to cast the net well and you can dramatically increase the number and kind of fish you catch.

We have seen over 1,000 people make decisions for Christ since February! Hopefully God will give us the grace to sort through the catch well and mend our nets with care and efficiency. And if we're doing our jobs right, the waters will be swarming again soon...

Mommy, Who's That Guy In The Attic?

Welcome to Friday's Fun Family Fact...

Disclaimer: all of the details in this story are true and verified via a link in order to satisfy the skeptics. It has been 20 years since they actually transpired, however, so there is the slight possibility that if you were to get the story directly from other characters in it, some of the details might be conveyed slightly differently. In this way my blog entry is like the four Gospels. Four unique perspectives results in four unique stories - most of the details are the same, but provided from completely different perspectives.

The back story:

My mom is one of the most welcoming, kind, loving, open-armed and forgiving people on the planet. In that way, she has been cut from the mold that produced people like Mother Teressa - able to cheerfully trudge through suffering in third world countries while enduring hardship for the sake of reaching out to people less fortunate. As a result of this God-given gift I, as the 8 year old participant in this story, was exposed to a very wide spectrum of different personalities. From the vegan virtuoso violinist named Baldo to the fund-raiser candy stealing starving artist up from New York city named Willum, I saw it all. Perhaps you will be able to meet these other characters in future Friday's Fun Family Facts, but in keeping with the minor Attic theme established here, This FFFF will feature the man from the Attic, John Peter O'Grady.

One morning I woke up to find out that my mom had invited a man to come live in our Attic. I don't know why, I would imagine that there was some good reason, but as an 8 year old it didn't concern me so I never asked. The man in the attic's name was John Peter O'Grady (and, Yes, you have to say all three names together). We all loved John Peter O'Grady. He ate dinners with us. He entered through the same kitchen door we did. He enjoyed the fruit of our families labor. He found a cozy home in our Attic.

Who is John Peter O'Grady you ask? Well, he was the leader of the Camden 28 an antiwar political activist group that broke into a draft office in the 70's in protest of our countries position on something - I'm not sure it matters what, I don't want you to lose sight of the fact that he is living in my attic. So, the spiritual application for this blog is as follows: you never know who the guy in the attic was before he got into your attic, but chances are, the fact that he's in the attic suggests that you should probably ask!

Thanks! Tune in Monday for something important...

I Stink At Mornings

Generally speaking, anything that happens to me "pre-coffee" is seen by me, the waking party, as an assault on the foundational parts of my of my personhood. I often struggle responding in appropriate ways to simple things like questions, prolonged glances, the dog, pieces of clothing that trip me up on the way to the shower... On occasion I have been cited wandering through my house aimlessly bumping into things and grunting random phases filled with bitter angst. What is my problem?

It could be that I don't have a problem. It could be that mornings, in general, are directly linked to the fall of mankind into sinful rebellion against God and my heightened spiritual state causes my soul to respond in repulsion to mornings' persistent recurrence. This is a very Biblical theory! Do you think it is just a coincidence that Adam ruined the furture of humanity just 11 verses after he woke up from a deep sleep? This theory is further supported by the fact that as the day progresses - that is, the farther away from the morning I get - my view of the world becomes increasingly positive.

I suppose there is a little room for me to allow the possibility that mornings are not a cosmic mistake and that my grumpiness is actually a sin that needs to be addressed, but let's not talk about it until after 10:00...

Christmas Starts Today

Yesterday was a great day at Elevation. The Christmas boxes were piled High - I mean about 12 feet high - and the decor inside and out was hopping. The start to our new series was amazing! The creative elements went up another notch, again, thanks to the leadership of Larry Hubatka, our Creative Pastor. And there were pastries in the Atrium. If it wasn't clear before Sunday it was very clear after - The Christmas season has begun. What better way to kick off Christmas than to see 143 people commit their lives to following Christ. That's right, 143 people gave their lives to Christ yesterday in one of our five worship experiences.

It never ceases to amaze me how much God uses our little church. Pastor's message preached from Matthew 13:53-58 could not have been more powerful. The band killed it - again (check out Wade's blog for the set list). The volunteers, from the parking crew to the new believer follow up teams, were in top form rockin' their series specific T-shirts and handing out nextlevel packets like they were working on commission. And, did I already say, there were pastries in the Atrium...

I cannot believe that I get to be a part of this church. 143 people committed their lives to Christ! Praise God for His continued blessing! For the lives that He has changed, and for those that He will change as we continue to seek His heart!

Who Are You?

In Acts 19 there are some demons who ask an interesting question, "Who are you?" The Scripture tells us that some Jews went around casting out demons by saying, "in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Finally, one day the demons responded, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then they were beaten severely and sent out naked and bleeding...

I have heard this passage discussed as a passage about authority, and in some ways, it is about authority. Jesus is the Son of God, Paul is an Apostle - they definitely have some authority. When I read it this morning, however, it occured to me that this passage is also about ownership. The Jews were attempting to reap the benefits of identity with Christ without paying the cost. If the Jews had really owned what they were saying, they would not have been described as Jews, they would have been described as Believers or followers of the Way. If they had owned what they were saying their words would have had power.

Who are you? Have you really accepted all of the power, joy, peace, direction, discipline etc... that comes from being a child of God, or are you just name dropping? I don't know what happened to the seven sons of Sceva after this experience but I would imagine that they took the Name of Jesus a little more seriously. Don't wait until you're backed into a corner by an argumentative relative this Christmas, wrestle with the hard questions now and come to grips with who you are in Christ.

God's Got Your Back

If God has your back, there's really no need to keep looking over your shoulder!

I was reading in Acts 18 this morning about Paul's experiences in Corinth. In Acts 18:9-10 God tells Paul, "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."

The most interesting part about this statement is that God was not just talking about the shepherds and the blacksmiths in the town, God really did have Paul's back. When the Jews came against Paul with a united attack the proconsul, Gallio, wouldn't hear anything of it. Then, in an interesting twist of events, the Jews turned on Sosthenes (18:17) -- Who the heck is Sosthenes? Acts 18 tells us that Sosthenes is the Synagogue ruler. So Paul not only has the Proconsul of the city fighting on his behalf, he has the leader of the Jews themselves - the ones that started the attack to begin with - on his side.

I guess it's safe to assume that God doesn't play. If He needs to get a high ranking official to protect His mission then he'll pull in a few Gallios and Sosthenes. On the other hand, if He needs a simple teenage girl that will obey Him, even in the face of potential humiliation and pain, then he goes and finds Mary (Luke 1:34). What I haven't found in the Scriptures yet is a situation where God is lacking for people to do His will. If God has your back, there's really no reason to look over your shoulder.

Keep your eyes fixed on what He's called you to and He'll bring in the big guns if He has to! Or, maybe you are the big gun and If you lose sight of why God has placed you in your position you may miss the opportunity to "set Paul free". Sosthenes may have had it rough in Acts 18, but check out 1 Corinthians 1:1 - I think he got back on track.

The Thrill Of The Chase

My dog, Oliver, has a favorite toy. The design of this toy is very simple. There is a boot lace, a little stuffed rabbit with a squeaker in it, and a swiffer handle. One end of the boot lace is tied to the end of the swiffer handle while the other end is tied to the rabbits leg. The design of this particular toy is such that if I sit on the couch I can flick my wrist and send my dog all over the living room in hot pursuit of the little rabbit. The most beautiful part of this toy is that after about 10 minutes of leaping from the couch to the floor in vain pursuit of the little rabbit, my wire-haired Jack Russel Terrier can hardly walk from exhaustion - earning us about a hour of peace.

Here's the irony: every other time I have bought a little squeaker toy and given it to Oliver he will chew on it for about 32 seconds and then walk away never to return. He's just not interested in a toy that lays there, he wants something to chase.

I think I am a lot more like my dog then I like to admit, and if you were honest you probably are too. Aren't we guilty of only pursuing the things that we can't have while we leave the things we've been given in the corner to collect dust? Just a thought...

The Attic

Did you know that the Elevation Church office has an Attic? When we built out the office space we wisely beefed up the size of the ceiling joists and slapped some plywood on top so that we could store stuff. Pretty common solution for storage I suppose but here is the problem: when you have a lot of storage it generally gets filled. And that is how the saga of our Attic begins...

There was a day long ago when the Attic was a wide open frontier of storage capacity; a veritable Mecca for various sundry items that shouldn't be thrown away, but didn't need to be kept in business. But just like land in South Charlotte, once the word got out that there was space available...you get the idea! So before three sermon series had passed, the Attic found itself buried under bottomless piles of junk! Everything from nylon die-cut streamers and shag carpets to bullhorns, boxes and baptismal heaters.

About a month ago, we (Joel Salter, Chunks Corbett and myself) cleaned out the Attic in our office and then set up some rules for what goes up and what simply gets thrown away. Our attic is now organized. The ironic thing is, even though there's about a tenth as much stuff we use it ten times as much.

Isn't this like our lives? We start off with a blank slate of opportunity but as time progresses we stuff more things into it until eventually there's no room left; from the outside our lives look full, but in reality they're not really being used. Maybe it's time to clean out the attic?

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven..." - Matthew 6:19-20

Initiating AND Sustaining Life Change...

I had a conversation with the Small Groups Pastor of a very large church recently. In our conversation he said that there are two basic approaches to structuring your small groups ministry, "You can either structure it for growth or control." From a systems standpoint he is absolutely correct and at Elevation we are structured for growth. We always have been and we always will be. That means there are certain controls we will never be able to put in place. They will limit the number of people who can be plugged in and will, therefore, be scrapped before they ever get to the table!

The tension is, however, how do we continue to add more people AND ensure that the appropriate structure is in place for life change? Maybe it's because I'm young and stupid, but I believe that we can structure a ministry that is both dynamically growing and changing and achieveing spiritual growth for individuals at the deepest levels. Here's why I'm so convinced of this truth:

I believe that real Spiritual Growth happens while we're in motion. Pastor Furtick referenced Luke 17:11-19 this Sunday and in a passing comment emphasized the fact that the lepers were "Healed as they were going...". I believe this is true! Healing doesn't come to the person that is not seeking it. In fact, how many times did Jesus say things like, "Your faith has healed you", "stretch out your hand", "bring me the fish and loaves", "go wash off the mud and you will see", and on and on they go. I cannot think of an example where there was not a clear and decisive action taken by the recipient of the miracle prior to receiving it. A lot of what God does is a mystery, but in this it seems to be pretty clear; if we want Him to move in our lives we've got to build up some momentum first.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was working on a new purpose statement for the small groups ministry that would encapsulate both aspects of our church's mission - People far from God, and, filled with life in Christ! Well, here it is:

"Initiating and Sustaining life change through community"

I'm not willing to settle until we have a model that initiates AND sustains life change. I don't know exactly how it will look in 20 years, and I'm sure that we will make hundreds of mistakes on our way, but let's not be guilty of aspiring for too little.

I said to a group leader the other day, that when we shoot at the moon God gives us the stars, but when all we can see to aim at is a tree, we usually hit a squirrel. Group Leaders, let's not settle for what we can achieve in our lives, in our groups and in the Small Group ministry, let's aim for the moon and believe that God will reorient the galaxy on our behalf.

The Glorious Popping Sound

So I was raised on a farm...

Well, kind of! I was raised on three acres of land that was mostly covered with crops, animals and barns, and I was occaisionally caught doing farm-like tasks: feeding chickens and pigs, milking goats or cows, weeding large gardens etc...

One year, we raised some turkeys from egg to platter and an unfortunate piece of their story involved the removal of their heads. (in case you were wondering - when a turkey's head is removed it reacts very similar to a chicken with it's head cut off...)

After chasing down the headless fowl and restraining it we would begin an arduous process of de-feathering and "cleaning" them. When you "clean" your first turkey you are usually revolted by the process and every item that is removed is a new excuse to run to the restroom, but by the fifth turkey things begin to seem more mundane. It is at this point that you notice the little green sack at one end of the intestines. It is filled with toxic fluid and should not be popped anywhere near the edible portion of the fowl, and is thus to be removed with care. Once it is finally extracted, however, bored eight year old boys have discovered that it makes a glorious popping sound when it is whacked up against a block wall. I'm just saying...

The moral of this story is:

As you are heading toward this season of Thanksgiving don't forget that there are others who have not had it as good as you; the turkey provides a great example in this case.

- OR -

remember that no matter what you're stuck doing there is always something to be thankful for; during turkey "cleaning" there is at least the glorious popping sound...

Words...

So I have always had an obsession with words! (I know, very nerdy. I'm okay with that...) From my vantage point, how could someone not get excited about the the word: obsequious - meaning to accommodate oneself to the will of another. Or a word like anthropomorphism - you need to look that one up yourself.

Another amazing thing about words to me is that, at least in English, sometimes they can be very tricky.

For instance, there could be a bandage wound around a wound, or you may have read on a reed parchment that you shouldn't read in red light. Maybe, though all the way through you had a rough time thoroughly cleaning the trough, you thought enough to do what you ought. I'm just saying... There is also the classic: to take two is too many, but over there they're always ready for theirs.

As a final plug for the world of word lovers I leave you with my all time favorite word, famous in my small and unimportant world for it's incredible length: pneumonultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Of course, there is considerable controversy around this particular word, some don't believe it to be a real word at all, but, again, I'm okay with that...

Gratitude is Very Photogenic

These pictures probably don't mean anything to you, and that's fine because you weren't there.

But to keep from feeling out-of-the-loop, let me fill in some of the back story.



About 35 seconds prior to these pictures being taken my son's face looked a little less content. In fact, he was screaming at the top of his lungs demanding that one of the three adults in the near vicinity - consisting of his mom, his aunt and myself - drop everything and lavish ungodly heaps of attention on him. (The adult in view is his aunt - as if you hadn't guessed that already!!!)



As you can see, upon being scooped up and inserting the hoodie string into his mouth he acquiesced into this pleasant blob of contentedness.


So what's the point? Well, there isn't one, accept to show off my very adorable son. But since this is a blog about leadership principles and someone who is looking for spiritual incite might be reading it, let me go ahead an make a point for you.


If my son can express this much gratitude about a hoodie string, how much more should we express gratitude for the things we've been blessed with? God has our best interest in mind and He always comes through for us even when we are selfishly screaming out for blessings that, frankly speaking, probably seem a little ridiculous from His perspective.


Maybe a good application would be for you to take a moment to reflect on how much you really do have to be thankful for. I would bet that there is more than you think, and an expression of gratitude is very photogenic.

Thankful

I just came out of a meeting with some of the most vision filled, God-inspired leaders that I have ever been around. I cannot believe that I have the privilege and honor to serve with these great men of God: (Pastor Steven Furtick, Chunks Corbett, Larry Brey, Larry Hubatka, and Wade Joye)

Somewhere along the way God decided to put me in a catapult and fling me down the field. Today, the day after the biggest day we have ever had at Elevation, a day where people gave more generously than I could ever have anticipated, where hundreds more hearts were engaged with the vision to see our city reached for the Gospel, where hundreds of thousands of dollars have been committed to our community to give back to those who have need; this day where Elevation Church has been poised by the blessing of God to see His name made famous like nothing we could have dreamed up if we had 200 years to plan for it, on this day, more than any other, I look around and wonder how I got here!?!

Thank you God for the privilege to serve you under these great men, in this great church, at the beginning of this great move of your hand in a wonderful city to see the world changed for Your glory! You are a truly awesome God and to be anything other than revolutionarily grateful for your blessing in my life would be blasphemous!

Tee-Pees, Placentas and Rose Bushes

The following entry is actually true! Although I occasionally wonder how I made it into functioning society to be able to relay it to you...

So there I was innocently minding my own business -- 14 years old, riding to the store on a routine trip to pick up last minute medical supplies for my mom who had stayed behind in the Tee-Pee with the mid-wives who were preparing her for the birth of my youngest sister, Elspeth; my mother's eighth child -- when my step-father started pointing frantically at the windshield and asking me if I saw it!

The best description I could get out of him as he was flailing his arms and swerving the rickety truck all over the country road was, "Don't you see that light?" His attempts to orient me in the vast universe of possible-things-he-could-have-been-pointing-at were thwarted by the fact that I had never heard of Aurora Borealis (a.k.a. the Northern Lights) so I did not know to look at the sky. As a result, I was left severely underwhelmed by a porch light that did not seem to justify my step-father's frantic - although not particularly abnormal - behavior.

Despite my uncertainty of the reason for doing so, we 'whipped a U-ee' in the middle of the street and headed back to the Tee-Pee. Five minutes later we were all standing on top of Blakeslee Hill on Comfort Road in Newfield, NY staring at the most spectacular display of colors and shooting stars I have ever seen. It really was an amazing spectacle! (only slightly lessened by the periodic groans of my laboring mother...)

The next morning my little sister was born. About 3 minutes later the Placenta was born. And in keeping with all standard medical practices we buried the placenta in the back yard under a wild rose bush. I think there might have been bagpipes to celebrate the moment, but that would require far too much description for this entry.

And that concludes the first Friday's-Fun-Family-Fact blog post. Tune in next Friday for a special pre-Thanksgiving entry with tips on what to do with the little green sack that's attached to the end of a turkey's large intestine...

The Vision Statement!

At Elevation Church we have a very clear and compelling vision statement: people far from God will be filled with life in Christ. On top of that, I have leadership orientation materials that are built around three guiding principles in the small groups ministry: hosting, leading and Communication. Basically, everything seemed to be going well...and then I read this book! On page 29 there is a brief statement made by Herb Kelleher the CEO of Southwest Airlines.

Herb Kelleher established a vision for Southwest that they would be "THE low-fare airline." To explain the significance of this statement Kelleher describes a scenario in which Tracy from marketing approaches him about adding an entree to the very slim menu for the Houston to Las Vegas flight. His Response is what stuck to me. He said, "Tracy, will adding that chicken salad make us THE low-fare airline from Houston to Las Vegas? Because if it doesn't help us become the unchallenged low-fare airline, we're not serving any chicken salad."

After reading this statement I went through all the same thought processes that you just did. I thought, "What's the big deal? I would like a chicken salad if I were riding on your plane!" Then it occured to me that it doesn't matter what I would like. I can always go fly on another airline that will offer me chicken salad. On the other hand, If I want to benefit from THE low-fares of Southwest I will need to settle for peanuts. The point is, Herb Kelleher knew without even having to think about it what his decision was going to be because he had a clear and compelling vision for his company. I am faced with "chicken salad scenarios" every week. What I don't have yet is a statement that is specific enough to help me make decisions during these scenarios.

So now that I've been reminded of the need for a clear and compelling statement, I won't stop until I've found it. I'll keep you posted!

High Jumping 38 Feet!

The basic rules for the Track and Field event the high jump are as follows:


1) Jump over the bar 2) move the bar up 3) jump over it again...


There are many strategies to jumping the bar successfully -- In high school I personally employed the Fosbury flop. Anybody who knows anything about high jumping knows that when you use the Fosbury flop, if you can get your hips above the bar you've got it!



Here's my high jump story: at 5 foot 6 my hips would clear the bar by about a foot. My coaches would always get excited thinking I was on my way to clearing 6 foot 2 - a secure 1st place win in most of my track meets.



There was a problem, however, at 5 foot 8 my hips would only clear the bar by about 4 inches and at 5 foot 10 (the highest I ever cleared in competition) I was lucky to clear the bar by 0.0000137 inches. Somewhere along the way the bar just felt too high! In other words, the bar was being raised, but my perspective wasn't changing. At 5'6" I believed I could clear 5'10". But at 6'0" I still believed I could clear 5'10" and as a result I never hit the 6'0" mark!



In leadership I have found the same principle to be true. The measurement of my success has little to do with the actual height of the bar and everything to do with what I believe about the height I should be clearing. My job as a leader, then, becomes raising the bar of my perspective above the bar of expectation. Obviously, all of us will reach the ceiling of our potential at some point (there's no amount of imagination that could cause me to clear 38 feet in the high jump) but I don't want my ceiling to be the result of my own short-sightedness. When I come to the end of my life I would rather have failed attempting to clear 38 feet then have settled for 5'10" when I could have cleared 6!

Get Out There!

(The next entry of Why Wait for Tomorrow? will be posted later today, but I had to get this out first!)

I am currently reading the book of Acts. this morning I am reading Chapter 9 - Saul's conversion. Here's something that jumped out to me. I'm sure many of you have already seen it, but it hit me in a fresh way this morning.

In verse 27 of Acts 9 it says, "But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles." Saul (who is now called Paul in the story) had no one to turn to. From every angle he was hated, distrusted, envied, written off etc...

His old work buddies in the Jewish Synagogue hated him because he abandoned them for the renegade up-starts he was supposed to be squashing. The renegade up-starts that he was trying to join didn't trust him because last week he had Steven killed for teaching the very things he now claims to believe. But Barnabas shows up and decides to take him in. Barnabas by-passed all layers, took a risk, and brought Paul straight to the top.

That's what Small Groups do at Elevation. They turn outsiders into insiders. We are a church that is reaching people far from God. Many people coming to our church have burned every bridge they crossed to get here. the old comfortable circumstances they left behind, the relationships they ended, the lifestyle they abandoned are all starring them in the face every Sunday. Are we going to be the kind of leaders that step in? Are we going to overlook people's flaws where others can't seem to see around them?

14 years after Barnabas took this risk he and Paul started on a world evangelism tour that changed the face of Christianity. Who are you taking a risk on today that will change the world tomorrow? Get out there, we have hundreds of them at Elevation.

Why Wait for Tomorrow? (Part 2)

2) Because if you did, you might miss the best opportunity you have ever been presented with...today!

Seth Godin wrote a book called The Dip. I don't know what you'll get out of it, but for me, it helped me realize that I needed to pour myself into one thing. I've got a bad habit of chasing empty dreams and then waking up with a headache. In fact, I've started more hobbies in my short life than most people ever pursue in a life time.

I used to have well-meaning old ladies tell me that I was a Jack-of-all-trades in an attempt to compliment me. For several years, I took it that way! Recently, however, I decided that if I can't make a run at being the best in the world at whatever I put my hand to it's probably not worth the energy. In The Dip Seth Godin talks about knowing when to quit. He attacks the person who says "don't be a quitter" as if quitting is fundamentally bad! Godin's point is clear: some things are worth quitting.

I was recently reminded that life is short and that I may not be here tomorrow. If that's true - which I believe it is - then we really don't have time to waste. if our pursuits don't add value to the things that God wants to accomplish through our lives then we should quit pursuing them.

On the other hand, if we're putting off things for tomorrow that are keeping us from accomplishing all that we could today we need to jump at the only opportunity we have ever been promised - NOW - and get them taken care of. If you were thinking that you might put off asking for forgiveness from your dad until after things cool down, or if you are planning on pursuing your real dream after you get a little more settled, you may want to reconsider. Quit the things that are robbing your time today and pour yourself into whatever will make the biggest impact on tomorrow! We've only got one life to live and it is only a breath...

Why Wait for Tomorrow?

That's a really good question! It actually has at least two good answers:

The first answer is:

You need the extra time to get through whatever would cause you to make a bad decision today.

I know you have never been in a situation where someone has told you to "cool off before you say that", or "put it away and look at it in the morning". But for most of us, this is really good advice and we should take it. I would guess that we could avoid a lot of stupid decisions if we'd just take a day to think about the direction our circumstances are leading us.

I had a mentor tell me one time that I should never make major decisions in the storm. He said, "It's cloudy! You're best bet is to follow the coordinates that you had before you entered the storm when you could still see clearly." I think that's pretty good advice. If the situation never gets better you may be forced to make your best guess using the instruments in the cockpit, but more than likely you'll find that after the storm is gone it wasn't quite as fierce as you thought it was. You'll probably be glad that you stayed on course!

So what about the second answer to our question? Well, this post is already getting too long, so the second answer will have to wait for tomorrow!

First Times!

1) Today was the first time Heather and I tried our homemade Japanese shrimp sauce - you know, the pink creamy stuff you get at Japanese steak houses that everybody loves and no one knows how to make - it was delicious!

2) If you were at our 10:00am service at Providence High School it may have been the first time you have ever seen people bringing out chairs for a sermon talking about giving God your money. It was a packed house!

3) Today was my first son's first time eating solid foods:


(The "grumpy" face only happened while the spoon was not in his mouth!)

4) And, yes, today was the first time that I created a topic so that I could hi-jack my blog to display unbelievably adorable pictures of my boy; Jeremiah Allen Bishop.

So on this, the first day of the second week of my blog, I leave you to wait on tomorrow's entry, Why Wait for Tomorrow?

Only Do What Only You Can Do...

I was reading Andy Stanley's book Next Generation Leader and I came across this line, "Only do what only you can do". My first thought was, "Is that original with this book?" I wasn't doubting that Andy wrote this line, he is, after all, very smart! It's just I would have been less surprised if I had read it in Proverbs 29:19. Over the past two years I have heard that line said (and I have said it) so much that it feels more like a proverb...

After I got over this initial shock, I started thinking about all that this line has unpacked in my life and leadership. I agree that every good leader should only do what only he (or she) can do, but (and Andy says this later in the book) as I have been actually leading there are plenty of things that I have to do on a daily basis that someone else could do. So naturally, as I was reading this line I began to feel discouraged as a leader. I thought, "maybe I don't have what it takes..."

Then I remembered what I read yesterday morning in Acts 6:2, "So then the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the work of God in order to wait on tables."" Even the Twelve had to learn to let go of some things. The net result of their decision: Steven becomes a waiter, gets killed as the first Christian martyr and "Saul was there giving approval to his death" (Acts 8:1). If the Twelve had not gotten out of the way the believers would not have been dispersed and Saul would not have needed to get a round trip ticket to Damascus!

Now I'm encouraged...It's not that I need to clear my schedule of everything that someone else could do today -- that would probably seriously hurt my ministry and get me fired --but I can begin the process of moving toward my area of greatest strength. The higher up the leadership pipeline I climb, the more I'll be able to focus, the more affective I'll become as a leader and the more profoundly God will be able to use the lives of the people I lead.

I guess this is a pretty good principle. Thanks Andy (or Luke...)

(Don't worry, if you're reading this and you serve under my leadership I am not expecting that you become a martyr. It was just an illustration!!!)

Purpose Statement and Vision...

I happen to believe that vision and purpose are important. Actually, I think they are vital. Without these essential elements things get messy. As it says in Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision, people cast off restraint". I feel like the first three entries of this blog have perfectly illustrated restraintlessness so I'm taking back my blog with this entry.

The purpose of this blog: to provide a platform by which I can cast vision to those that serve under my leadership.

Unfortunately, that may have just excluded you from reading my blog. Sorry! Maybe sometime in the future I will start an ancillary blog for the purpose of communicating everything to everyone but at this point I'm a little intimidated by a purpose that broad.

Some things you can expect from my blog: Practical tips on how to lead your Small Group better, stories from fellow group leaders, funny stories about Elevation staff members, fact of the days, Friday's fun family fact (look for an entry titled Tee-Pees, Placentas and Rose Bushes - in the near future), strange words like 'qua', inspirational quotes from Pastor Furtick, Insights from my personal devotions, Details about where I feel Elevation Small Groups are headed and anything else that will help me cast vision to the people I lead.

I hope that this will be a helpful resource for you, and if you want to stick around even though your not on my team directly I expect that occasionally it will be worth your while.

(By the way, the punctuation of the week has been the elipsis [...]. there always seems to be more to say, you know...)

The Key to Church Growth...

As promised...

Honorable mentions go to Wade Joye (old woman), Larry Hubatka (ninja), Chunks Corbett (Mr. Clean), and Larry Brey (Referee)...







3rd runner up...Awarded for taking the greatest risk:


John Bishop - Community Groups Pastor





2nd runner up...Awarded for most committed (Yes, that is a cut and color...)



Mack Brock - Worship Leader and his look-alike Larry Hubatka. Don't try to tell them apart...it's just too difficult!






"and the first place prize goes to..."





Ryan Hollingsworth and Joel Salter - Graphics Designer and Finance Manager as the Black Bond and his friend Wayne.

Blundering Idiot...

I've been at this blog thing for a little over 24 hours and I have published an impressive and truly unprecedented 2 posts already. Before you become too blown away by this display of discipline and blogging efficiency, however, I should point out -- in case you didn't happen to notice -- that I have already succumbed to a classic rookie mistake; I published a post that included a reference to an obscure holiday in an attempt to be funny (see my other post...). This is, according to blogging professionals, a serious blunder.

It was not just the professionals that critiqued my premier entry but my rabid fan base as well. Even these committed veterans of my blog felt that, "the reference was confusing, and misleading". I was attempting to introduce myself to the world in a very sticky way so that they would be forced to run back for today's post. Unfortunately...it back-fired.

So, on my second official post, I would like to issue a public apology to all my readers. Mom, I'm sorry!

Tune in tomorrow for highlights (and maybe some pictures) of the Elevation Staff Halloween costume extravaganza. I hear Lori Black might be wearing a pumpkin costume...

And It Starts...

This marks the beginning!

6:11 pm on October 29th, 2007 just two short days before Halloween, and just 187 short days before the next annual Administrative Professionals Day this small and insignificant blog has entered into the world to make an indellible mark on society.

It's purpose: to serve as a platform for it's author's opinion's and views on a broad range of topics from being a first-time-dad, to leadership development. From Chicken Bowl Challenges to the nitty-gritty details of serving as the Small Groups Pastor at one of the fastest growing church plants in the country...

I hope you enjoy this blog. If it makes you happy, go ahead and recommend it to a friend.

More to come...