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!