I had no idea this was in the works. I can't wait.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Re-Blog of Tony Morgan
Here's a total quotation of Tony Morgan's latest blog post. Sounds like this is a book I'll have to put on my "to read" list. Original post can be found here (if you're involved in any aspect of ministry and you're not following Tony, you should be.)
I recently finished up the Kindle version of Anne Jackson’s new book, Mad Church Disease. First of all, let me reiterate that I love reading and taking notes using the Kindle. Completely changes how I engage a book.
Secondly, this book in particular is one of those books that every person on staff in a ministry should read. If you aren’t currently facing the “disease” of which Anne writes, you probably will. Here are some of the highlights from my reading:
“I had allowed spending time with God to be replaced by spending time doing things for God.”
“The fear of letting people down, especially in spiritual matters, can often cause us to feel obligated or pressured into meeting unrealistic expectations, or worse, spending more time doing things for God instead of being what God wants us to be.”
“If the leader is exhausted, then the people following that leader will feel exhausted.” –Bill Hybels
“There are a lot of Christ-followers who haven’t taken the time to figure out what their holy discontent is, and so they’re doing a gradual slide into apathy and complacency—and that is unconscionable in a broken and lost world.” –Bill Hybels
“My experience is that it’s really easy to trash-talk churches or methods that aren’t what we think they should be.”
“There are no perfect churches to serve in, no perfect pastors to work for, and no perfect environments.”
“I could have prayed to be healed from depression, but if I hadn’t taken the necessary steps, I would have never come out of it.”
“An unguarded strength can become your greatest weakness.” –Wayne Cordeiro
“You are responsible both for the choices you’ve made in life and for seeking God’s plan for your healing.”
“You should design your ministry around your family values.” –Craig Groeschel
“One of the most important words in your healing—’NO!’ You may feel guilty for saying it. People may get angry at you for saying it. But you must say it!”
“The leaders who were the healthiest were the ones who never disrespected the people who hurt them.”
“We believe lies that tell us that our worth is in our productivity.”
“We cannot be dependent on ourselves and on God at the same time. When we consider the practice of rest unnecessary, we will also inevitably lose sight of the necessity of God.”
Aside from the great insights, Anne is obviously a gifted writer. I think you will enjoy and be challenged by this book.
I recently finished up the Kindle version of Anne Jackson’s new book, Mad Church Disease. First of all, let me reiterate that I love reading and taking notes using the Kindle. Completely changes how I engage a book.
Secondly, this book in particular is one of those books that every person on staff in a ministry should read. If you aren’t currently facing the “disease” of which Anne writes, you probably will. Here are some of the highlights from my reading:
“I had allowed spending time with God to be replaced by spending time doing things for God.”
“The fear of letting people down, especially in spiritual matters, can often cause us to feel obligated or pressured into meeting unrealistic expectations, or worse, spending more time doing things for God instead of being what God wants us to be.”
“If the leader is exhausted, then the people following that leader will feel exhausted.” –Bill Hybels
“There are a lot of Christ-followers who haven’t taken the time to figure out what their holy discontent is, and so they’re doing a gradual slide into apathy and complacency—and that is unconscionable in a broken and lost world.” –Bill Hybels
“My experience is that it’s really easy to trash-talk churches or methods that aren’t what we think they should be.”
“There are no perfect churches to serve in, no perfect pastors to work for, and no perfect environments.”
“I could have prayed to be healed from depression, but if I hadn’t taken the necessary steps, I would have never come out of it.”
“An unguarded strength can become your greatest weakness.” –Wayne Cordeiro
“You are responsible both for the choices you’ve made in life and for seeking God’s plan for your healing.”
“You should design your ministry around your family values.” –Craig Groeschel
“One of the most important words in your healing—’NO!’ You may feel guilty for saying it. People may get angry at you for saying it. But you must say it!”
“The leaders who were the healthiest were the ones who never disrespected the people who hurt them.”
“We believe lies that tell us that our worth is in our productivity.”
“We cannot be dependent on ourselves and on God at the same time. When we consider the practice of rest unnecessary, we will also inevitably lose sight of the necessity of God.”
Aside from the great insights, Anne is obviously a gifted writer. I think you will enjoy and be challenged by this book.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
A Tribute to Jace
Last night at the R2 Creative Team meeting, there was a formal announcement. Since Pastor Nick will be moving on to lead our student ministry, the wise decision to promote my good buddy Jace Breeback to the role of Creative Director was announced. To honor the occasion, I put together this little video of him talking about his vision for the Creative Team. Enjoy.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Been WAY too long
So it's been over a month since my last blog post. Way too long. Sorry about that - I'll do better.
I went down with some of the great folks at R2 to the Unleash conference at Newspring Church in Anderson, SC. Had a blast with good friends, got some great ideas about how to do things better in my role in the church, and was really inspired by some awesome worship. More about Unleash in general in an upcoming post.
Here's what's really inspired me to get back to blogging. I really felt God speaking to me this week, and it started before getting to Newspring. It all started when we were hanging out at a coffee shop just having a blast kidding around with each other. Dont remember the context of the conversation, but somehow it came up that I was a cheerleader in HS (this is the one thing I always play off as being embarrassed of, but in truthfulness, i had a blast doing it). My small group co-leader Jade was there and asked me a really interesting question. I think half jokingly she asked me "how did that experience affect your chazown?" (our small group is reading chazown and if yours isn't, it should be.) I thought about just giving her a flippant, joking response, but then decided to give it some real thought. I said "well, it tought me that it's good to sacrifice your own needs for someone else's." You see, as a guy on the cheerleading squad, your number one priority is to not let the girl you're holding or throwing up in the air hit the ground - even if it means you hitting the ground instead. I took some pretty nasty falls and got really banged up literally diving for girls on several occasions... but none of them ever hit the ground.
On Thursday, Perry Noble was talking about how church leaders should continually be asking God for "the ball." That a leader should say, "I'm willing to take the punishment. I'm willing to take the risk. I'm wanting to be the one to advance down the field." Perry was talking to the Senior Pastors at that point, but I think a lot fo that fell in the wrong ears... I've heard a lot of chatter online for other people in the Church talking about how they want the ball too.
Here's where I think the problem lies. There's only ONE ball carrier. The church staff has to take an offensive lineman mentality. As a church staffer, it's not my calling to carry the ball. It's my calling to get out there and take the pounding to make the job easier for the guys with the ball. The thing is, there's no glory in that, there's not a lot of recognition or glory in it. But as a guy who really enjoyed being an offensive tackle back in my football playing days, I can tell you that there's a lot of internal satisfaction - and that your role is a vital one.
Perry finished up by asking "does your pastor know you've got his back?". My response is I'd do anything for Jason (and frankly any of the other pastors at R2) and I'm totally onboard with his vision, but I don't have his back. Being behind the ball carrier does nothing to help him out. I want to be out front, doing everything I can - giving blood sweat and tears - to do any small thing to make his job - spreading God's Word, doing God's Will - just a little bit easier.
I went down with some of the great folks at R2 to the Unleash conference at Newspring Church in Anderson, SC. Had a blast with good friends, got some great ideas about how to do things better in my role in the church, and was really inspired by some awesome worship. More about Unleash in general in an upcoming post.
Here's what's really inspired me to get back to blogging. I really felt God speaking to me this week, and it started before getting to Newspring. It all started when we were hanging out at a coffee shop just having a blast kidding around with each other. Dont remember the context of the conversation, but somehow it came up that I was a cheerleader in HS (this is the one thing I always play off as being embarrassed of, but in truthfulness, i had a blast doing it). My small group co-leader Jade was there and asked me a really interesting question. I think half jokingly she asked me "how did that experience affect your chazown?" (our small group is reading chazown and if yours isn't, it should be.) I thought about just giving her a flippant, joking response, but then decided to give it some real thought. I said "well, it tought me that it's good to sacrifice your own needs for someone else's." You see, as a guy on the cheerleading squad, your number one priority is to not let the girl you're holding or throwing up in the air hit the ground - even if it means you hitting the ground instead. I took some pretty nasty falls and got really banged up literally diving for girls on several occasions... but none of them ever hit the ground.
On Thursday, Perry Noble was talking about how church leaders should continually be asking God for "the ball." That a leader should say, "I'm willing to take the punishment. I'm willing to take the risk. I'm wanting to be the one to advance down the field." Perry was talking to the Senior Pastors at that point, but I think a lot fo that fell in the wrong ears... I've heard a lot of chatter online for other people in the Church talking about how they want the ball too.
Here's where I think the problem lies. There's only ONE ball carrier. The church staff has to take an offensive lineman mentality. As a church staffer, it's not my calling to carry the ball. It's my calling to get out there and take the pounding to make the job easier for the guys with the ball. The thing is, there's no glory in that, there's not a lot of recognition or glory in it. But as a guy who really enjoyed being an offensive tackle back in my football playing days, I can tell you that there's a lot of internal satisfaction - and that your role is a vital one.
Perry finished up by asking "does your pastor know you've got his back?". My response is I'd do anything for Jason (and frankly any of the other pastors at R2) and I'm totally onboard with his vision, but I don't have his back. Being behind the ball carrier does nothing to help him out. I want to be out front, doing everything I can - giving blood sweat and tears - to do any small thing to make his job - spreading God's Word, doing God's Will - just a little bit easier.
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