Next...

I'm in the office today, and just needed to share what is going on. Turns out that what's happening in God's Kingdom and God's church doesn't stop for my vacation. Here's what I mean:

I'm here because I was meeting with a family about the funeral. Shortly after making it to Christmas, Kent made it home. I get the privilege of speaking at his service on Monday coming up, and because of parking and other considerations, the service will be held at an LDS stake center. That will be a first for me. I ask for your prayers as I prepare for that service.

After that meeting, I got a call from a friend who just finished cancer treatments, and now has some blood count issues. Doctors are working to figure it out, and they seem to be closing in on it, but my friend is tired, a little scared, and trying to make sense of it all. My proud moment came when she said something about getting closer to figuring out what God wanted to do through her because of all this she's been through. I got to tell her to be patient (me, telling someone else to be patient - that God, what a sense of humor!!), and it will be clear when the time comes to do it.

Before I could leave, I checked my e-mail - some friends from DC checking in and telling me how God has been blessing them, and how much they appreciated what we invested in them during the time they were at FBC. There's more news, but I'll save it for later.

Look at what God is doing! I'm so excited to share on Sunday what God has been putting in my heart for a couple of months now, and I hope it helps folks to see that God is wanting to do something, but like I said on Christmas Eve, we're not waiting on Him, God is waiting for us to decide how much we are willing to follow, how much we're willing to risk. Make plans to be there, I think God's got something to say.

Happy New Year, and All God's BEST Blessings!!

Make The Ask

I'm glad that the snow held off Sunday until after church, and I'm glad that my Seahawks won against the Jets, but that was not the best part of the day by far. Baptizing people never gets old!!

I wish you could see the looks on people's faces when they stand up in front of the church family and tell you what Jesus means to them. Every time, no matter how nervous they are, no matter what their life has been or how much they have to say about it in that moment, their eyes tell the whole story. They always shine with a sense of anticipation - God has done a work in my life, and He's not done yet, but I'm here now! It's why I end up blurting out: I Love My JOB! at each baptism. I never get tired of seeing lives change, and I never get tired of celebrating that new life with the folks who were there to make it possible - the First Baptist Church Family.

I love how folks clap and cheer for each person that gets baptized. I love how folks smile and enjoy watching someone share their new found hope in Jesus. I love how people give and serve and pray for the sake of other people coming to know Jesus like we know Jesus. I love how people come out of the water and the first thing their hear is the echo of Heaven's applause in the cheering of God's people. I love it! No doubt, when I'm not feeling my best, when I'm not feeling effective in my ministry, when I want to quit and go stack lumber at Home Depot, the memory of those moments keeps me coming back.

I especially loved Sunday, because both of the people being baptized have amazing stories of God's love and redemption. I hope you get to hear those stories soon, but the part of Misty's story I shared Sunday is important: she came to Christ because someone brought her to Christmas Eve service last year! Read that sentence again. Now, read it again.

Yes, inviting people to church is powerful and important ministry. That's why I do it, and that's why you need to do it. Wherever you are (this is a shout out to all the folks outside of Poky who read the Roof Crashers - thanks! You don't know how much that encourages me!), invite someone to church this week. We have three services to try to fit around people's schedules, so invite someone. You never know when you will be lighting a candle at a baptism because you cared enough to invite a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor, a classmate, a client. Make the ask. Let God worry about the details, just make the ask.

I'm going to be a little hit and miss the next couple of weeks, because I'm taking some time off after Christmas to spend with my family, so in case I don't get the chance to say it later, Merry Christmas, and may the blessings of Jesus come into your heart and life in a fresh way this year!

Big Time Anticipation (Times Five!)

This is a crazy time of year, but God is doing so much and moving in the lives of so many people, it has me amped up for what I see coming. A few things that I'm looking forward to with great anticipation:

• Christmas Eve Services - Looking at the energy and response the last two weeks, and knowing this Sunday is going to be great, I just see the three Christmas Eve services being not just energizing, but life changing for some folks. Invite your friends, it's going to be great!
• Volunteer Appreciation Sunday - giving our hard working volunteers (75-80 each Sunday, minimum!!) a well deserved Sunday off. Thanks to our fantastic volunteers!!
• The ON MISSION series to start the year - we're going to look at what God has called us to be and do to be 'on mission' with Him. It's Jesus' church, so it's Jesus' call what we're about.
• THE FINANCIAL SERIES THIS YEAR WILL BE OFF THE HOOK!! - I've done a financial series every year for a while, but RESTRUCTURE, our series on money starting this January, will be amazing! God's been in my ear on this for a couple months already, and with the constant talk about the economy, recession, gas prices and credit crunch, the whole world is talking about money. What better time to share what God has to say about it!! We'll have our Financial Peace University crew up and running again, and a financial workshop to help folks start to get a handle on their finances, but here's what always makes me excited to preach on this subject: someone always gets saved during the financial series! I know, it's crazy, but it's true! God uses this material to challenge and draw people with His grace. How cool is it that God uses whatever He has to get our attention and change lives for eternity!?! I am in awe of His greatness right now!
• Mostly, I'm jacked about the momentum we have! - I see this next three to six months as the turning point in our ministry. As Student Ministries gets fired up for DC/LA, as the Creative Arts and Worship teams get closer to hosting a big worship training event, as our Children's Ministry continues to lead the way in reaching out and sharing Jesus, and as our Connection Groups grow, branch, grow, branch, repeat... I just see things picking up speed and carrying momentum into and thru the summer like never before.
  

So buckle your seat belts, ladies and gentlemen - the Jesus jet is go for take-off!!

Angel Tree Parties ROCK!

What a weekend! The Men's Breakfast we had Sunday was a great time of talking about what God is calling us to do as men in our church, and Saturday night there was a great meal served to the staff by one of the Connection Groups as a 'thank you' for all the hard work they do. Of course Sunday was amazing, with a bigger than expected 9 AM crowd battling the snow to come worship Jesus. I so love the 9 AM crowd!

But the biggest, best part of the weekend was Friday night. We held our first ever Angel Tree Party, and seven families of prisoners came to receive what God had put on our hearts to give them. There were presents that we got on behalf of incarcerated parents, and care-giver packs that included gift certificates and goodies galore. We had over 50 volunteers that night pulling out all the stops to bless these families who find themselves in a tough place. Here are just some of the highlights from that night:

• The first family to arrive got there at 6 pm for an event that started at 6:30. We were gathering for prayer and some last instructions, and they wandered over and joined in! They were also some of the last to leave, spending 2 hours talking, laughing, eating and enjoying themselves.
  
• The Student Ministry gang were excellent 'wait-persons' for the food and drinks. The teens were attentive and upbeat all night, and many pitched in to help with clean up afterward, too. We are seeing a glimpse of the future leaders of our church right now in Student Ministries - way to go!
• We didn't know how people would react to the idea of coming to a church they don't know, to a party with people they don't know, with any manner of agenda that they don't know about. So we told our folks to be prepared for two things: no shows, and people who come, get their gifts and leave. We had some no shows, but got one family's gifts delivered that night (the rest will be delivered soon, don't worry). But we were pleasantly surprised to see families stay for at least an hour, some as much as two!
• One family almost didn't take their coats off. They were ready to get in and get out! But when they saw food, warm drinks, and friendly faces, they sat down and relaxed. Soon, they were talking with their table hosts and having a great time. They even asked questions about FBC!
• We didn't do this to get people to come to our church, the point was to be a blessing, not to do marketing. But God stirred it up in people's hearts to start asking us questions about the church, and we had folks there who were excited to answer. I got called over to one table to talk to a family at length about who we are and what we do, all because they were curious. Two days later, there they were, walking into our 11 AM service! They felt comfortable enough to show up, and you made them feel at home during worship. Way to go 11 AM people, I love you!

The Angel Tree Party is one of the coolest, most openhearted, most wonderful events we've ever done. We've done bigger events, louder events, splashier events, but none more giving, loving and warm. I was so blessed to hear the feedback afterward from the folks who came to serve: it was great, and we can't wait to try this again!

Keep praying for the impact of that night to be felt in the lives of the families and their parents in jail this Christmas. God is on the move, and we are seeing Him use us to make a real and life changing difference! Can't wait to see what's next!!

I'll Be Back...

I'm having one of those days that keeps me coming back. Like golf, where I hack my way through 18 holes, but a couple times per round I'll hit a shot that feels good, looks good and lands where I want it. Exciting, effective, and enticing, those shots keep me coming back to golf. This is one of those days in ministry.

I was standing in the worship center, looking at the preparations for the Angel Tree Party tomorrow night, listening to two staffers talk about what they are learning in their leadership. I had just come from a great discipleship meeting and a great lunch meeting before that, and it hit me: God is really moving in this church family like I've always pictured it happening! It's been awhile since we had such a consistent string of wins, and now we're a part of a roll that is exciting and scary, fun and freaky all at once. So many pieces are rolling forward, connecting, moving together and showing fruit right now, as I stood in that room just now, it overwhelmed me - It's working!

I'm so pleased with how Student Ministries Vision Night went last night, Chris and his team did a phenomenal job of communicating the future of their ministry, and I'm so fired up about Angel Tree Party tomorrow and the blessing bonanza that will be for the families that come. I'm still pumped up about the news of one of our Connection Groups splitting into three groups for the expressed purpose of creating space for others to get connected. Right heart, right motives, right on! I did a 301 interview yesterday that got me fired up, and right this second there are students up stairs practicing to lead worship (really LOUD!)

I know there are lots of holes that need plugged, lots of hearts that need healing, and lots of work left to be done. I know we're far from perfect, and we're moving too fast for some, too slow for others. I know that tomorrow is another day of endless possibilities, both good and bad. But today is a day to celebrate the hand of God on FBC, so I'm celebrating. Yeah GOD!!

People ARE Getting Ready!!

I really am jacked about this message series for Christmas! "People Get Ready!" is a call and a challenge to all of us. Like the season of Advent, we need to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, and do what we need to do to be ready when He arrives. Like our real lives, we need to get ready for what God wants us to do, both now and the rest of the year. And for some, the greatest Christmas gift they've ever been given has been left unopened for all the Christmases of their lives because they haven't received the gift of Jesus Christ.

It has been fun connecting the Old Testament prophecies about Messiah to the New Testament reality of Jesus, and I can't wait for the rest of this series. I hope you will pray and invite folks to come hear the greatest news ever!

I'm about to go home and help my wife get ready for dinner. We're having the elder team and their wives over for dinner tonight, then a meeting to make sure we're tracking as we look to the new year and all the opportunities and challenges that will come our way. We have a dedicated and God-honoring group of guys on the elder team, and they could all use your prayers as they lead the church from the point position with me. I'm blessed to have them in my life, and I've been looking forward to this dinner for weeks.

If you were here for Sunday, I hope you heard that God has a plan for you. Not just for the pastor, not just for the church, but for you in particular. God has been planning your part for a long time, and I'm hoping you will step into it with joy and gusto this Christmas.

Riding the Rollercoaster

Christmas is coming, and the easy way to tell is not the snow on the ground this morning, nor the shoppers crammed into Costco every day. No, it's the roller coaster we get at church this time of year. We've been very intentional over the last few years to cut down on the number of nights out for people during Christmas, since this is the season for concerts, company parties, family get togethers, and all manner of other crazy. We as a church decided God didn't want us to be so busy coming to church that we didn't have any bandwidth left to invest in and invite other people. So we do less and pray for greater impact.

But one thing that hasn't changed in all these years is the way 'crazy cake' gets layered on during any holiday season (Easter is usually worse, believe it or not). The last 30 hours are a great example of what I mean when I say the roller coaster of up and down is at full speed.

Yesterday at staff meeting, we had a great discussion about all the great things going on in our ministry right now: 5 people just baptized, 10 more on the waiting list for next time, including three kids, one teen - the rest are adults! The I Saw the Lord campaign was a huge success, and we shared stories of how it touched people (by the way, if you have a story, e-mail me, PLEASE!!), and all the other great things God is doing. Then, we talked about the finances: things are not good. Whether the economy is good or not, the giving is not, and it's holding us back from some great opportunities we could be leveraging for God's kingdom.

Then last night, the Night of Prayer was good. Over 30 people there to pray, ready to praise God for the good, and some visibly stunned by the news that the finances are so far off. But in the end, a good time of prayer for our community and for our effectiveness as a church family this Christmas.

This morning we walked thru the Angel Tree party preparations, getting ready for next weekend's event, and things were good. Some folks came to see me after that, and I got to lead someone to Christ and talk to them about getting baptized. THAT WAS AWESOME!! Right after that, I got some news that disappointed and frustrated me to my core. I hate it when Satan draws people into the trap of separation; he's the father of lies, and his lies hurt people. It makes me mad.

Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. PARTY IN HEAVEN!! Deep downer down. That's the graph of my life right now. One of the things I'm learning in my life is how a leader needs to combat the roller coaster:

The first way is prayer: getting alone with God and dumping all this on Him. It's His church, His people, His sheep. He cares, He wants to make to His kingdom grow, and He sees the mess before it gets made. I'm about to go and sit with Jesus and tell Him how much I need His help to not be angry and ineffective because of the downs, and how thankful I am for the ups.

Second, I get around 'up' people. I had lunch today with a perpetual 'up' person. I have a list of people that I need to be around regularly in order to keep my perspective in the positive zone. Without them in my life on a regular basis, I get depressed and stay down for long periods, so I don't let myself skip on those meetings.


Third, I remember what God has been doing. God has been blessing this church. Some folks, for whatever reason, can't always see that. I realized that I can't always see it, either. I get caught up in the 'crapola' and miss what God is doing if I don't remember to pay attention and intentionally call to mind God's goodness and faithfulness in the past. When the nation of Israel got to the other side of the Red Sea, it took all of three days to forget God's miracle and grumble about their lack of water. If God can part the sea, He can make a spring in the desert. I have to remember the miracles, the life change, the faithfulness of God, and be obedient to what He says, rather than always looking at what we don't have.

We're going to have another baptism service on Dec. 21, and we will get to celebrate the miracle of lives that have been changed by Jesus Christ. It's an answer to many prayers. People will cheer! God will provide the water. I need to obey and be there.

Not a Bad Monday

Did three things today that I feel great about, just wanted to share:

1. I worked out. Man, I need to keep on this. I forget how good I feel when I'm regularly in the gym. I sleep better, I manage my stress better, and I just have more energy. I forget that way too fast in my efforts to 'do more' in my life. I've got to stay on this, even through the meat of the Christmas season. Feel free to hold me accountable, I need it!
2. I met with my LLC. I have the privilege of leading a group of local pastors in a monthly Leadership Learning Community. We read a book, discuss it's implications for our ministries, and we dream, encourage each other and pray together once a month. Today was the day, and I'm hearing great things from each of the churches represented. I'm jacked to hear what God is up to in Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, Arco, Clearfield and Ogden. We have a big God, and He's doing big things. There are small group ministries starting, people being baptized, new ministries starting, and momentum building in these places. It gets me pumped to hear that stuff. I guess the lesson here is: make sure to include some positive input, some encouraging people in your life as often as possible, it's good for you!
3. I read a couple blogs. I read Perry Noble's blog, and he's great. He posted about a blog post from another author, and linked it. In it, Anne Jackson confesses that she had a problem with Perry, but that God challenged her to love more and criticize what's working less. I read Perry first, then Anne, then the comments. I was both encouraged and massively depressed. People were using her blog to vent about what they don't like in pastors; namely that some pastors are trying to connect to modern culture, and even might use other people's (effective) material to themselves be effective. I read it as much as I could before I got sick. People are far and away more willing to criticize what's working than do anything effective themselves. Having myself been capped on for learning from and using material from other pastors/churches, and having been criticized for trying to be relevant (the statement usually takes the form of a 'watering down the gospel' argument), I was sad to see so many people try to yell the loudest about how bad someone like Perry is. But here's what actually encouraged me: even someone as effective and resourceful as Perry Nobel gets his share of heat.

Okay, that's sick, I know, but it's true. Billy Graham has been criticized his whole career. Rick Warren has people hating on him all over the Internet. You can't name an effective leader in the church that hasn't taken a broadside of criticism here or there.

And that reminds me that if I'm going to be the leader God wants me to be, criticism comes with the territory. I don't like it, I don't enjoy getting it, and it's not always a good time. But two things happen when I get criticized, and I think they are both good. One is, I get to rethink what I've said/done to draw the criticism. Sometimes, I'm flat wrong, and I need to be called on it. Critics aren't always evil, and they aren't always wrong. And second, I get to look at the bigger picture: if what I did was okay, but it drew fire from someone anyway, was it worth it? I have to see criticism as a piece of what God is doing to grow me up, to force me to listen to Him over the other voices in my life, because ultimately, I'm going to stand before God and God alone for my accountability.

While I'm here on the Earth, I'm accountable to the Elders and others in my life, but ultimately, if I'm looking to other people for my affirmation and not focused on what God is calling me to do, I am asking for trouble. I get caught up in the 'chatter' way too easily, and it makes me fearful of what 'people are saying' way too often. Instead, I need to listen, learn, grow, and keep my eyes on Jesus, no matter what. And by "no matter what," I mean no matter what people might say about it. I need to learn from other pastors, even if people don't like it. I need to learn from other churches that are being effective, even if people criticize that. And I need to say what God puts on my heart, even if it gets me in trouble with some folks who don't like how I said it.

I know that I have the reputation of not listening to people. That's what some people think of me, and what they will say about me to others. But the truth is: I listen too much. God has been trying to break me of listening to - and then trying to please - everyone. This is me, trying to listen to the Master's voice and learn. So, Go Perry! Go Anne! Go Jesus!

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving...

Just a note to say to the world and to Jesus how grateful I am. I have a beautiful wife, two amazing kids, the dream job, and most of all, Jesus Christ in my life. I have so much to be thankful for, and more on the horizon. Here's just a sampling:

• Had a check-up this week with the Cancer Center. Everything is normal, no sign of any return of the cancer from four years ago, and by this summer, I'm in the 5 year, 'cured' category for sure. My cholesterol is high, so I have additional motivation to get to the gym, eat better and take care of myself.
  
• After a 5 baptism Sunday, we had three people in the 101 CLASS indicate that they wanted to be baptized, too. Add that to the two or three people we had that couldn't make it work this past Sunday, and the two more that called me just today and said they wanted to meet about getting baptized, and I'm grateful to be in position to see God on a serious roll!
• God has given me the greatest staff team and team of elders; I know I am not worthy to receive such gifts. Not only am I supported by these folks, I am held accountable and given the structure and strength to succeed in ministry. I have never felt more free and more clear about the ministry I've been called by God to accomplish, and I can't wait to see what's next. Take a look at what Karl, Aaron and Chris are fired up about.
  
• God has been teaching and stirring His people. The stories I get to hear each week from people being impacted by God's imprint in their lives is so cool and so humbling. God doesn't need me, but I'm grateful He uses me and allows me to see just a smidgen of what He's doing.
• The church I serve is growing in it's ability and desire to be generous. The Angel Tree party is receiving so many donations, we're going to bless the daylights out of people, and we've had more gifts to the food pantry, to cover Thanksgiving meals for a couple families, and more. We have work to do on funding the rest of our ministry, but the hearts of our people are growing in giving.
• We have a great service planned this Sunday to put Thanksgiving in a bigger perspective. I hope you can come. Check out the website.
  

That's enough for right now. I need to go sweat off some room for my turkey tomorrow. May God bless you as you give thanks to Him for all the many blessings in your life.

Pretty great day!

Just to recap: ended the I Saw the Lord campaign with 5 baptisms today, bringing our total for the ministry year to 8, 5 more than all of last year! Awesome! Four people (besides me) got to do the baptizing, each one for the first time. Our intrepid Youth Intern, Chris Boblit, got to do his first, and made a 'splash' of it! I love the enthusiasm of a guy serving Jesus with all his heart, way to go Chris.

I'm on a break from teaching our CLASS 101, the membership class, and I have nine students, all asking good questions, all paying attention (at least I hope so!). God is doing something great in our church, and I can't help but get fired up!

Some Interesting Perspective

This was a different kind of day. I had a doctor's appointment at the Cancer Center (check up), then a couple meetings about baptisms coming up on Sunday (there will be 5 or 6!!), then a meeting to try to clear up some communication and help someone get connected in ministry, then a return trip to the Cancer Center to sit with someone as they take their first chemo treatment, then back to the office to connect with a staff person about moving some ministry stuff forward, some phone calls to get folks connected to the Angel Tree party. All that with some vague attempts to work on my message and answer all the e-mails I got today, and I feel like I'm far from done, but it's 5:15 and I have to get to Rachel's basketball practice.

So I took a quick look at my friend John Jackson's blog. I had e-mailed him earlier in the week to ask a question, and he's posting the answer. It's good to have friends in this world.

Here's to a great weekend of work day, baptisms and a baby dedication. And maybe a message...

5 thumbs down, 5 thumbs up

Here are five things I've been thinking about that bug me, followed by five things that have me excited and ready to rock-n-roll!

5 Thumbs Down:

• Racism - I read that race related incidents are on the rise since Barak Obama was elected president. Included in the examples was one from SE Idaho (not Pocatello, thankfully), which made me both angry and sad. We live in a fallen world, with broken, sinful people in it. Jesus wants to set them free, and we need to pray that people will let Him come empty their hearts of hate.
  
• "Christians" Responding to the Election - I'm saddened by the Chicken Little response to the election results. Some so-called Christians are running around as if the sky was falling. More to the point, calling President-elect Obama the anti-christ, or scaring people into buying guns 'while they still can,' even denying communion to those who voted for him. Burns me big time that people have so little regard for the sovereignty of God. The Bible teaches us to pray for our leaders, and that command was written during the Roman Empire while they were persecuting Christians! Get a grip, people!!
• Christmas Creep - I've railed against this for years, but this year it will be worse. Not only have the Christmas decorations been out long before Halloween, but the retail world has gone crazy (the economy is falling, the economy is falling!), so the Christmas sales are ramped up a full month ahead of schedule.
  
• Gossip and rumors - The front page of the paper has had articles about people spreading rumors and gossip about lay-offs at ISU, and how one e-mail got loose in cyberspace and scared the pants off dozens if not hundreds of people. Wow, how sad is that? Grown ups can't seem to figure out how to communicate directly, effectively and without sin. Makes me sick. Gossip is so underrated as a sin in our world, but so abundant.
  
• On a lighter note: My Seahawks - 2 - 8 - lost at home to the Cardinals, and last week to the Dolphins, so I'm not going to be able to live it down with the Paul Austins of the world. Plus, we go to Dallas on Thanksgiving Day, so that ought to be nasty.
  

5 Thumbs Up:

• Sunday was AWESOME! - Mark Nelson and the praise team did a great job of getting out of the way and leading people into worship, and the response to the message was great! 80 people raised their hands to say, 'YES' to God, and we had a bunch of folks sign up for our work day and the Angel Tree party. God is so GOOD!
• God is working in our Youth Ministry - Met with Chris Bobblit today, and the vision for our Youth Ministry is getting clearer and clearer. He's got a great group of leaders, some motivated students, and the desire to see teens walk with Jesus. I can't wait to see where this is going next, but as a pastor and a dad of a Jr. Higher, I'm thrilled to see the growth in our Youth.
• Baptisms This Sunday! - We have a bunch of people who are stepping up their walk with Christ by going public this Sunday. I love baptisms, it's a huge, flashing, neon sign that says 'God is working in the lives of people!' The best part: as of right now, I'm not doing any of them, others in our church family get the privilege of baptizing their friends into new life in Christ. How COOL IS THAT!?!
• Highland Wildcats are 2-1 - Rachel is playing basketball for the first time, and her team has won two games! She is learning the game, and she improves each and every week. It's so fun to see her hustle, try real hard, and stretch out of her comfort zone. It gives me a feeling that's hard to describe, pride and excitement and love all rolled together. I think God must feel a little of that when He sees us stretch and grow, too.
• My other Wildcats won, too! - For the second straight year, the Linfield College Wildcats not only beat their arch rival PLU Lutes, they shut them OUT!! 45-0! Linfield held the Lutes to 2 yards rushing for the game, had nine sacks, and basically wiped the field with them! Go 'Cats! That and the nation's longest streak of winning seasons, and it's official: Linfield Rocks!!

Last Look at TOTTOTS

I wanted to post this on my blog, but Aaron beat me to it!

Look at what God did on Halloween in downtown Pocatello!

Yes, I'm the gorilla, but that's not the point. The point is, our church family was out in the community bringing some Jesus to the people.

Man, I love my job!

Thanks go Aaron for putting that piece together, and to everyone who participated in Trick Or Treat The Old Town Streets (TOTTOTS).

Time to REFOCUS

Just took a much needed week off, so sorry to the regulars for being gone. Got some rest, got my gym routine down a little deeper, and spent some time with Beth's parents goofing off in Boise.

So - time to REFOCUS!! God is making this place more and more fun for those who are getting excited about being used by HIM to do more and build the Kingdom in this valley. It's also becoming more uncomfortable for those who are wanting church to be comfortable and easy. I like comfortable. I like easy. Nothing better than going to a restaurant, ordering my favorite meal, having someone else do all the shopping, cooking and cleaning up after me, and just enjoying the experience.

But God did not call us to be customers, He called us to be contributors. We are supposed to make ourselves uncomfortable for the sake of those who don't yet know Jesus. We are supposed to give ourselves away so that others might receive Christ. We are supposed to set aside our rights and privileges the way Jesus modeled for us so that others might find the grace and forgiveness they need. I am loving the way that people are moving to the early service to make room for folks at 11 o'clock. I'm loving the way people are giving of there time and groceries to help the food pantry. I'm loving the way people are stepping up to volunteer in our Children and Youth ministries. Mostly, I'm loving the idea that we've added 7 or 8 new Connection Groups in the last 6 weeks! People are stepping up to lead, to serve, to share and to be Jesus to other people!

We must recognize the truth: it's not supposed to be easy. I'm glad Jesus never took the easy way. He didn't back down from a challenge, even when it was the cross. We have some challenges in front of us as a church family: we need to make Chris Bobblit full time in our Youth ministry, we need to fix some of the problems in our building, like carpet and windows, and we need to advance the grace of Jesus in our city. I want you to know, I'm not backing down on these ideas, because they represent the next steps in our ministry. And if you are willing to step up and be a contributor and not just a consumer, I will be your biggest fan.

Glad to be back in the office, serving with you!!

Five Places I've Seen God In October

Here are five snapshots of what I've seen and heard God do in and through the Family at First Baptist:

• A woman in our church brought her father, who is in his eighties, to a worship service. He has been anti-church and anti-faith for a long time and very negative toward his daughter's faith. That he came to church with her is a miracle, but then he spent the rest of the day talking about how the service had touched him, how the music style and the worship of the people on the platform connected to him, and how the message was real and understandable to him was another miracle. The final miracle: he asked his daughter where he could find a church like this in his town.

• At the conference in Boise, I met a guy who lives in the same town as this woman's father. He is connected to several churches there, and gave me the names of half a dozen that are like ours and might appeal to her dad. When I told her, she smiled so bright, it burned my eyes! Just another divine appointment. You can't make this stuff up!!

• We sold out of the first 200 I Saw the Lord books, and we have had record numbers of people in Connection Groups during the campaign!

• Over 100 volunteers, over 500 pounds of candy from our church were able to serve and bless over 5000 people and 14 businesses downtown at Trick or Treat the Old Town Streets. We even saw people from some of the businesses in church yesterday!!

• The buzz that has started after I spilled a little vision about going to Galveston, TX to help clean up after the hurricane this fall. There are gobs of people talking about this, wanting to be a part of the team in some way. I can't wait to see how it comes together!!

That's five, and I could give you a few more right now, not to mention the ideas that have started to sprout in the hearts of our people. There are going to be lots of opportunities to get our hands dirty and share God's love in a practical way in our city coming our way if we stay open to the idea that we need to follow Jesus and serve in His name. I'm so PUMPED by what I'm seeing! I hope you are, too!!

Opportunity

Okay, how good is God!?! We have never had an event that drew so many people, never had so many willing, awesome and enthusiastic volunteers, and the word is out: First Baptist Church loves Pocatello!! People were stopping our folks to thank them for the help with businesses, the BIG slide, and the positive attitude. We even made it on the Channel 6 news!

People in our church got the opportunity to love the community, the community got the opportunity to see Jesus at work in our lives, and we made the name of Jesus a little more famous in our town. THIS IS THE STUFF THAT PUMPS ME UP!!!! WAY TO GO, FBC FAMILY!!!

Keep praying, there are more opportunities coming. Finishing up the I Saw The Lord campaign in the next few weeks, the Lord still has something to say to us. Keep listening, keep watching, and keep serving; God is up to something big!!

Why I Love This Church!!

Wow! I just got a look at the candy pile! We have five HUGE tubs of candy, and more on the way! I love it when we get to show what a generous church we are. People have been coming in all week bringing little packages of love to give out to kids tomorrow during Trick or Treat the Old Town Streets, and now we're about ready to give away some Jesus in fun sized bites!

I'm also blown away that we had 75 people sign up to help!! We always struggle with getting folks to tell us that they're coming to help with events, so to have 75 names a week ahead of time means that we'll have over 100 at the event!! Again, I love the heart for serving and sharing that God has been building in the lives of people in this church family. It is a privilege to be a part of such a great move of God.

Pray for the event, the city won't shut down the street, nor will they provide traffic support, so there will be 5000 people, mostly little kids all hopped up on sugar and adrenaline, running around a 10 block area with rush hour traffic and no crossing guards. Ask God to protect and bless this event so that not only will kids find candy, but someone will find Christ's love.

And if you figure out which costume is mine, make sure and laugh at the jokes. :)

Weekends Were Made For This

The consensus is: God is up to something BIG!

After a great day of team building with the staff in Boise on Friday, we had another great day of learning and growing at the Re-Tooling event Saturday. Much good from both the general sessions and the workshops, plus the bonus of lunch with John Jackson. The lunch was worth the price of admission, and for proof of that, see Aaron's blog. The drive home was an idea incubator, and that was just the cherry on the cake of a great trip.

Then Sunday happened. God was obviously speaking to people in the room. I know this from two sources: one, the feedback about what people heard in the message about being where God is and asking to see more of Him in our lives, plus how that equates to seeing something happen in Galveston this spring, and two, that people complained about the 'butt crack' comment.

Yes, I know it was close to the line, however, if you could have seen how folks were dialed into the next few minutes, you would know that it was worth the risk. People were leaning forward physically, open to hear what God was doing in Moses' life and how He wants that same relationship with us. I may not always make everyone happy with my comments, but if people are listening to God, I'm more than happy to take the heat.

God is speaking, people are listening, and the world is waiting for the changed lives of people in Pocatello to go out and make a difference. That's what I call a great weekend!!

Phone Call

When the phone rings at church, it can be anything. I mean anything: someone is in the hospital, can you help with gas, we want to sell you insurance/curriculum/office supplies, my satellite dish just went out (for reals, someone called and told us his dish went out, and can we fix it...). It can be a prayer request or a praise report, it can be a person with a question or an agenda or a critique, it can be literally anything. But this morning it was encouragement on the phone.

Stacy knocked on my door and said, "Anne Graham Lotz is on the phone for you."

I don't name drop, that's not my style, and that's not what this is. This is a WOW moment for our church, our place in the Kingdom of God, and for me personally. We are one of the few churches around the country that has taken the I Saw the Lord material and used it church wide, so the folks at Angel Ministries have asked us to keep them up to date, and give them any feedback we have. I wrote an e-mail yesterday with some of the exciting responses we've seen to people studying God's word, and some suggestions to make it easier for future churches to go church wide on this. Apparently, Anne herself saw the e-mail and decided to call to say 'Thank you' and 'We're praying for you.'

It was surreal. Here in my cluttered little office, in the middle of downtown Pocatello, Idaho, I'm talking to the daughter of a legend, the leader of a nationally known ministry, a gifted and in demand preacher and speaker, award winning author, and all that is Anne Graham Lotz, and she's thanking me on behalf of our church.

Some will say, "Bill, get off your ego trip. So what, she's just a person God uses." I will reply, "It's not about me, it's about the graciousness of this lady, who has more to do than most, who has a greater ministry footprint than most, and who has no reason whatsoever to be so kind as to pray for us, much less call and encourage us in our work for the Lord, but she picked up the phone and made my week." So no, I'm not going on an ego trip. What God is doing right now is so far beyond me that I'm sprinting to keep up. But what I am going to say is that God is up to Something REALLY BIG, and one phone call out of the hundreds we will receive this week is proof enough that it's really happening.

Pay attention. God is talking.

Quick Sunday Post

I'm sneaking in a post during the dinner break of the 101 CLASS. I'm still in awe of what God is doing right now in our church. We have a ton of people taking the core classes tonight, plus a huge response to I Saw the Lord - we ran out of books!! The service today was electric, I felt people connecting to God's spirit in both services, and the way folks were listening to what had to be for some a hard message to hear, it all just made me stop and praise God for the good stuff going on right now.

A quick clarification: what I said today was that we need a full time youth pastor. We have it in the budget to pay a full time salary, and we started Chris Boblit off as part time because he was a rookie. But now as he rounds into shape and is doing great ministry with the teens, we don't have the giving support to pay the full time salary. We're in the black financially, but barely, and with spending still cut to the bone. We need to see giving come up dramatically to get back to the level of ministry needed to change this valley for Jesus. We're already saying no to opportunities, and we need to say yes to a full time person leading our youth ministry. Pray about it, and follow the voice of God as He speaks from His word.

Gotta run, second half of 101 about to start.

What a Team!

I am a blessed man. For all the storms of my life (for more on this, come hear the message on Sunday), I am blessed many times over. One big blessing in my life is the incredible staff of people I get to work with every day.

Thursday was National Boss' Day, and October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and those two events combined to become a lunch Wednesday after our staff meeting. They got together and gave me an IPod Nano and a cool speaker dock for it. Now I am able to listen to all the pod-casts they've been telling me I need to listen to, but that's not why they gave it to me ( at least that's what I tell myself). They made sure to tell me that they were excited to be a part of what God is doing here, and they were glad to have me in their lives. It was a wonderful lunch, a great gift, and more importantly, a great encouragement to me to know that these amazing, talented, gifted, hard working, dedicated folks are with me, for me and by my side as we work for God's best in this church family.

I was blessed by them, and I want you all to know what a great blessing you have in this church staff. I know lots of pastors and I've seen lots of church staffs in my life. This group of people here at FBC Pocatello is the finest, most dedicated, most amazing group of people I have ever known in ministry. I'm sure there are others who feel the same about their team, but my team is the best there is.

God is up to something big, and I am glad to have these folks with me while we discover it together.

Not Just In An Ordinary Way

The song that Karl sang during communion yesterday has been in my mind quite a bit lately. It's by Chad Marvin at Second Baptist, Boise, and the lyric that is stuck in my head is in bold:

There's a stirring in my heart to worship You,
It's getting stronger everyday.
There's a stirring in my heart to worship You
And not just in an ordinary way.

'Cause You are anything but ordinary,
Anything but common place,
Way beyond extraordinary
So what I want to do

Is run to You and find Your presence,
Let it shine upon my face
Your calling is the very essence of the stirring in my heart
To worship You.

We treat God like He's common place and ordinary, yet He is anything but. We treat God like a side of fries, but He's really the main course. We treat Him like dessert, we can take Him or leave Him, it's good, but optional. God is not optional. God is everything, and He is calling us to Himself, calling us to a closer relationship with Him. Just like we talked about on Sunday, God is calling His people to love Him and listen to His voice. I hope you'll hear it, because God is calling us to read His word and hear His heart in it's pages.

It was a powerful moment on Sunday - both services - when we took communion and recommitted to follow God's commands. I sat on platform and watched person after person come up and remind themselves of the sacrifice of Jesus for them, and commit again to follow His commands. I was touched by the changed lives that I see in our congregation and the work that God is doing in our lives together. Every time we do communion, I am reminded of the places God has brought people out of and the life He has given to them. The baptisms were another reminder of the lives that are changing around us.

I said it again on Sunday, and I believe it more each day: God is on the move in the Portneuf Valley, and we have the privilege of trying to keep up. Run with me! :)

Two Kinds of People

There are two kinds of people in the world: the kind that divide the world into two kinds of people, and the kind that don't. Old joke, but I like it.

There are the kind of people who step up and talk to folks when they need to, and the kind that run away from conflict. I have worked very hard to be the first kind, but it means overcoming a lifetime of being the second kind. I got a good example today of what it means to step up and talk to someone, and I was in a place (finally!) to not let it mess with me and make me re-think everything I'm doing and want to change and make them happy. Here's what I mean:

Someone called me today and told me that they were leaving the church. Actually, they had quit coming a while ago, but they called to talk to me about it. I appreciate that kind of honesty. They said that they just were not getting fed in the sermons. The irony of that after what I said on Sunday was not lost on me, but I kept that part to myself. We talked about what it meant to get 'meat' in a sermon, and it basically came down to a difference of opinion on what is important in a sermon. He wanted me to use Greek and Hebrew, share the 'deeper' meaning of stuff, and I believe that knowledge is only worth something if you can apply it.

We can agree to disagree, and we can affirm each other and respect each other in our differences, and when we hung up, we both said we would love to be a help to each other if the need came up. That's what being a Christian is supposed to be about. That's what it means to walk together in the journey of faith. We don't have to agree on everything, and we don't have to convince each other of our personal 'right-ness' all the time. We can love each other in Christ and serve where we serve, use our gifts in the place that God put us without having to bash each other over the little places where we differ.

He's not going to convince me that I need to 'feed' him 'meat' from the Word, and I'm not going to convince Him that it's more about what we do with what we know than it is about what we know. He needs something different in this season of life, and I pray that God will reveal Himself to my friend in a fresh way wherever he ends up going to church. And I pray that people will come and fill in the gaps that he leaves in our church by his departure.

But in the end, I appreciate the fact that my friend was honest, that he talked to me rather than about me, and that he took the time to listen to me, too. I respect him even more for that. He didn't dump and run, he didn't fire a rocket over his shoulder, and he didn't leave mad. Good for him, better for Jesus.

That's what I want to be when I grow up. More like Jesus. That's why I'm excited to get into His Word in the I Saw the Lord campaign. God is up to something big, and it's not just in my life, it's in all of us. I hope you see it. I hope you get it. I hope you see the Lord.

Post Launch Thoughts

Got the I Saw the Lord campaign off the ground on Sunday, and I'm thrilled with the response so far. It was out of the box for folks to talk to each other in worship, but I was proud of everyone for trying, and the feedback was all good. There have been over 140 people get participant's guides, and I'm praying that everyone will get the maximum blessing out of the time the spend in God's word.

Props to the youth ministry for bringing the teens into the service to get this Bible study method in front of them, I hope it helps them to start digging into the Bible earlier than some of us 'old codgers' did.

If you still need to get into a Connection Group for the discussion part of the campaign, call the office or drop us an e-mail and we'll get you pointed in the right direction.

Here's why I'm so excited about this: I keep seeing and hearing about how the church in America has lost it's footing in society, and how the churches that are making a difference all have one thing in common - they are all getting back to a simple set of basics, including the idea that God's Word needs to be central to the life of the church and the lives of the people. I'm excited to see more people get into God's Word and see what it really says, and I'm looking forward to hearing what the Holy Spirit prompts in people when we give Him the opportunity.

Pray for God to use His Word to push us in the right direction, both individually and corporately, so that we all end up where He wants us. I'll pray for you to get the most out of this experience that you can get; you pray for me to hear clearly from God what He's saying to all of us in the First Baptist Family.

And here's a little something extra for my readers: We're doing baptisms this Sunday!! Pray for the folks getting baptized, that it will be a moving, spiritual experience for them, and pray for the folks who come to watch, that they will be moved by the commitments of these folks and make their own spiritual commitments. Should be a good time this Sunday!

No Place Like Home

We made it home safe from Post Falls, and I'm glad to be home. A big "thank you" to all who prayed for us while we were gone and for safe travel. Despite rocket powered UPS trucks on the freeway, it was a mostly uneventful travel experience. Also a bit "thanks" to Aaron Floyd for driving and leading worship at the conference, he did a great job at both. Thanks to Stacy Rude and Kathy Nelson for going along and keeping their ears open for God to speak. It was a good conference for all of us.

If you'd like a taste of what we heard and learned, check out Aaron's blog, he posted live during the sessions.

I'm going to be a single Dad this weekend while Beth is away at the Women's Retreat, as are some of you other dudes. Let's all pray for each other, and pray for the women at the retreat that they will be able to leave this all behind and listen to Jesus while they are there.

We're starting the I Saw the Lord campaign this Sunday, and I just finished the first message. After the conference and the discussion on the way home, I'm more convinced than ever that
God has been setting us up for something. This next eight weeks is part of it that God started in us back in May, and everything since then has been pushing us in this direction. I hope you will join us as we look to see what God has for us in this. I'm excited, and I'm praying for both of us to hear more clearly from God than we ever have before.

Get Away Day

Just about to hit the road back to Pocatello, but I'm so full of great stuff from yesterday, I had to stop and post. David Putman rocked us with his talk on the Discipleship Code, and I'm still buzzing about the idea that we in the American church (and we in Pocatello specifically) have gotten our theology backwards, and it's keeping us from really making the eternal impact that we should be having. I'm still processing how we need to teach and communicate this, but it was a eye opener with pratical and personal application. Not 'book learning' theology: crusty, dusty, philosophical meanderings, but real, hard core, how what we believe about God and ourselves can and will impact how we live and serve and follow Jesus. Great stuff, stay tuned.

Here's a shout out to Katie at Brodie Mack, my new favorite clothing store.

It's always good to get together with other pastors who are leading their churches to hope and missional effectiveness, the energy, prayer and hope just fills me up. It's a long drive home, so I'm getting on the road. Pray for the beginning of I Saw the Lord this Sunday, God is definitely up to something.

What I Learned at Camp Today

Back in Post Falls for the annual Pastor's Conference that our Region puts on, and God is once again telling me great stuff. I'm here with Aaron (check out his blog, he's posted about what we've been hearing), Kathy Nelson and Stacy Rude. We've spent the day hearing great stuff on the Holy Spirit's work in our lives, in our ministries and in our churches. We've been prayed for and encouraged, and I'm listening to what God is saying loud and clear.

The work that God's been doing in my heart and mind to heal me from the struggles I've had over the last few years is continuing, and God is telling me that boldness, courage, strength and joy are what we will need to move the church forward from here. I'm filled with encouragement and a sense of assurance and peace that is deeper than I've felt in a looooonnnnggg time.

After the message Sunday about unity (and thanks to all of you who prayed, it was an amazing day of ministry), I am sure that God is setting us up for what comes next. We're in the black financially for the second week in a row, we had over 20 people sign up to be in a Connection Group, we gave out close to 100 I Saw The Lord workbooks, and we've got 4-5 folks wanting to get baptized. All that good stuff is just the beginning, and in a few months, we'll see what else God has for us. But none of it will come without prayer, hard work at unity and loving each other, and a renewed commitment to be a church that is sold out on the idea that Jesus wants us to love, bless, serve and share with the community where He's placed us.

I'm feeling God's healing and a renewed sense of purpose in my life. I hope that God is speaking to you, too. Listen to His voice, hear what He's telling us, and be ready for anything. I've got one more day of learning up here, then a drive home (avoiding Deer Lodge, of course...), then prep for the beginning of I Saw The Lord. I hope you're planning to join us for campaign, because it's going to be something special. I don't know what all God has in store for us, but after today, I believe more than ever that it's going to rock our lives.

A Prayer Request

I've got another trip out of town coming up, and as much as I look forward to learning, hanging out with friends and colleagues, and being challenged spiritually and intellectually, I'm not a fan of the travel thing. I'm one of those people who likes getting to be in other places, I just don't always like the getting there part. Here's hoping that they perfect the Star Trek transporter one of these days and can just zap us from here to there without any delay, detours or Deer Lodge.

A few years ago, we went to the Region pastor's retreat in Post Falls, and we drove. There were eight of us in a big, 12 passenger van, and we stopped to get gas and dinner in Deer Lodge, Montana. What began as a pit stop ended up being an extended stay. While we waited for dinner at the local bar and grill, we saw the three quarters of a football game and half of the movie, "The Blues Brothers." I've had slow service before, but this was way beyond anything we could have imagined. On the way out of town, we found there was a whole other part of town that included three fast food places where we could have been in, out and gone. To this day, the folks on that trip will talk about going somewhere and hoping to avoid another Deer Lodge.

I'm also not much on the journey in my life. I like to get places, learn what I need to learn, whatever it is in a big hurry, then be done with it. I'm not one for the slow cruise, the scenic route or anything when it comes to God working in my life. But there's my way, and then there's God's way, and between the two, God's way is better. I want to learn more quickly; God wants it to sink in more deeply. I want it to be over with in a hurry; God wants it to be fastened in tightly. I want instant; God wants constant. More often than not, I lose, but I go down fighting.

This Sunday I'm finishing up the series on God's Game Plan, and the last message is one that God has been simmering in my heart for months. I didn't realize that it was going to come out this week, but the time was right, and it was totally in line with the context of what we've been talking about. The message is going to be about unity in the church. And because of that, I expect that there will be resistance on many levels and many fronts. I'm sure that some folks will be concerned that I'm talking about them. I'm sure Satan, who loves it when we fight with each other, will make sure to stir up trouble ahead of and behind this message. I'm sure that I will feel more than once that I should go a different direction.

But I'm asking for your prayers this weekend, because this might be the most important message I give all year. We're right in front of a campaign to get people reading their Bibles with I Saw the Lord, and then it will be Christmas, one of the most important times of year for people to invite their friends to come here about God's gift of Jesus. But none of that will make the difference that God intends if we don't work to get along as a church. None of it will stick, none of it will grow us, none of it will connect to us of the people we bring to church if we don't work on loving each other, listening to each other, and living out the love of God in our lives in real community. A divided church is not a church; it's an poster for the inability of God to really change lives. We are a bad advertisement when we bicker more than we pray and when we gossip more than we give.

So would you take a minute, even right now, to pray for the services this Sunday? Pray for God to empower the service with His Spirit in a way that short circuits the attempts of the enemy to stop His message of unity and harmony in His church. Pray for me to be brave and say the hard things that need to be said. Pray for people to see themselves in the message and take it to heart, not just take it out on me. Pray for the spirit of unity to fall on our church family, and for us to ratchet up the effort it will take to be together, live together, serve together and love one another in Jesus' name.

We've been through a time of transition, and it's been hard on us as a church family. Some folks have struggled with some of the changes and improvements we've been making to our structure, our administration and other parts of our life together. The temptation in that situation is to pull back, pull apart, or pull out. We've seen people do all three of those, and it hurts whenever it happens. Gossip, stonewalling and avoidance become habits if we let them, and none of them are a reflection of God's love working in our lives. What we need to do is pull together, love each other, pursue peace. In other words, we can get stuck in a Deer Lodge of dysfunction, or we can get back on the Highway to God's plan for our church family. Did I mention I don't want to go back to Dear Lodge?

I know that God's will is that we be one. Jesus prayed for it, so I know it's the plan. Let's all pray according to His will and agree with Jesus' prayer that we might be one.

Pray for me, and I'll see you Sunday.

Finding The Joy On A Monday...

I don't like Mondays. Yes, that's also the title of a Boomtown Rats song from the late 80's, but that's not why I said it. I don't like Mondays. After the excitement and energy of a Sunday like yesterday, I'm so fired up about life and God and church and everything that when I finally get to crash, I crash hard. Monday mornings become this giant effort to remind myself that the rest of the week starts now, and I have to get going or nothing good will happen next Sunday. I pray almost every Monday that it's a snow day and I can stay home and sleep in. Even in September.

I used to take Mondays off, but I just hated feeling that bad on my own time. I would get less than nothing done at my house, couldn't get motivated on any hobbies, and left myself feeling both wiped out and guilty when it was all over. At least when I work Mondays I can force myself to step one foot in front of the other until either the Holy Spirit or Starbucks kicks in and moves me.

The melancholy is always greater after the bigger events. After Christmas, I'm a waste-oid, and the Monday after Easter is the bottom of an emotional and physical sink hole that takes a couple days to get out of. Big Sundays, like when we have a baptism or some other big deal, always take it out of me just a little bit more than an 'average' Sunday. Which makes how I feel today a little strange.

I'm pasted. I'm gassed. I'm rung out. I'm toast. I'm blotto. It feels like the Monday after Easter without the ham leftovers in my fridge. It took me a little while to figure out why I'm so empty today, but here's what I think it was: this was a big Sunday in disguise. It was a message about giving God control of our lives, letting Him make the call for us, and God moved a bunch of people to sign up for ministry, make time to talk through sticky issues with someone, and give financially. We had the best offering of the year at a time when we truely needed it. God moved in our service and through our people, and He's positioning us for the next steps. It wasn't the biggest crowd ever, but people were engaged. It wasn't the best message I've ever preached, but people were listening. It wasn't the BIG PRODUCTION Sunday, but it was a day that something changed.

I don't know if I'm over reading, or if I'm just coming down with the flu, but the way I feel, coupled with the response of God's people to the Word as it was preached makes me think that God nudged us a step yesterday. So I'm looking for the joy today. I'm looking for the opportunity to give God the Praise for what He's doing in our church and in my life today. I'm excited to hear what comes from the ministry sign ups and the personal decisions people made yesterday. I'm believing God that this is the begining of having the resources we need to step our ministry up a couple notches. I'm praising God for the time, talent and treasure that will be released into His hands for ministry in the weeks to come, and what impact that's going to have on our valley.

So Melancholy Monday, move over. I'm busy praising today.

Bill turns 41

Yes, it's my birthday. And having listened to my dad tell people he was 29 until I was 37, I don't pretend. I'm 41 today, and I'm excited about what comes next in my life. If I'm not as athletically gifted as I once was, maybe (and I do mean maybe) I've collected some wisdom in it's place. It's a fair trade. :)

All glory to God that I'm even here after all I've been through, and much love to my amazing family, my gift-from-God friends, and all the roof crashers I've been privileged to serve with and know over the years.

Living and Learning

I've posted the summaries from my book reviews from my study leave this summer, and a couple people have asked for the full review, which I'm glad to share. Now, before we get into the full swing of fall, I want to tell you what it is that God showed me in the three weeks I was studying.

First, God refreshed the fire in my heart for the ministry He's called me to do. I'll spare you the details, but there have been a number of de-motivators in my life over the last several months, and it's been a time of sorting through to make sure I really had heard from God about what I'm supposed to be doing, what the ministry here at First Baptist was supposed to be about, what is supposed to get my attention and what I need to avoid and ignore. Honestly, there's been a lot of struggle with all of that. I've questioned my calling, my gifts, my heart. Other people have questioned my commitment, my character and my integrity. It's been a difficult season.

But in fighting to take a study leave, I've been reminded that the best gift I have to give to God's work at First Baptist is myself. I give myself to this ministry, with all my faults and failings, all my shortcomings and self-doubt, all my gifts and abilities, and everything else. I give that gift because I want to and because God has asked it of me. So if I take time to take care of myself, it's to tend to the gift that God has provided for me to give to His church. It may not make everyone happy that I miss a few Sundays to try to learn and to grow as a person, but it's still the right thing to do.

I guess that it's the biggest lesson of the summer: I can't make everyone happy. I can't make everyone around me all feel good about me, good about church, good about their own life; I can't make anyone feel anything. I am limited in my ability to 'make' people do or feel anything. God has called me to this ministry, and I'm not supposed to surrender that calling to anyone, for any reason. The Holy Discontent book was the start of remembering that it's God's calling in my life to serve, not to make people happy. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team book was the tool God used to show me that the way I've handled my life has made it hard for trust to flourish in the leadership of the church, because I have not handled the conflict that is always a part of any human endeavor with the right spirit, the right tools, or the right timing. The Coaching For Performance book reminded me that with a little patience and some good questions, even people who disagree can be brought on board or at least made to feel like they've been heard. And the final piece that fell into place was the Emotionally Healthy Church book that said, "If you're a Senior Pastor, you need to be emotionally healthy or your church will not be emotionally healthy."

Okay, you put all that together and I hear this message: I've got a lot to work on in my life in terms of learning limits, building better relationships and learning to be vulnerable to people, handling conflict more effectively, creating space in my life to both celebrate and mourn, and taking intentional steps to keep the fire of God's Spirit stoked and burning at the maximum in my life. There are other, smaller pieces as well, but these are the biggies. I am more excited than scared at the prospect of God doing that much 'spiritual surgery' in my life, because I can see the ultimate outcomes being very good for me, for the church and, by extension, for the Kingdom of God. That being said, there's going to be a bunch of pain attached to this. I am not a fan of pain, but I'm looking for the outcome. Like I said on Sunday, looking past the giants to see the grapes.

As much as I'd like to not have all this to learn, it does mean that God is not yet done with me. I like to think that I'm still teachable, that I can still learn a few things and that my heart is not hardened to what God might want to show me next. The people who have stopped learning in life have stopped living, and I want to keep living right up to the end of my life. So here's to the next season of learning, living and all that God has next. Pray for me, I think I'm going to need it.

Feeling God Work On Me

Back in town, trying to catch up, and there's a bunch of stuff in my head. God has been messing with me for the last 6-8 weeks on some stuff, and I'm slowly getting my bearings on what direction I need to go and where we as a church family need to move as this all propels us forward. I have some personal issues that have been pushed to the surface, and I'm starting to get them in perspective in order to let God work them through. I just told someone today that it's like there are parts of my life that are in need of being ground off. They have been painted bright red so I can see them clearly, and now God has the grinder turned on and is starting to take the first layers off. Not pretty, not fun, but once it's over, I'll be in a better place. That's the hope and promise of God.

One of those issues is conflict. I don't like conflict. I've had many, MANY negative experiences with conflict, especially in church. When people disagree with one another, we don't always deal with that in the most effective, helpful, God-honoring way. I know that I am not in a hurry to deal with the conflicts in my life most of the time because I'm not looking to have my butt handed to me in someone's moment of anger. It's happened too many times, and what I've learned from those experiences is that conflict is bad.

Unfortunately I've learned the wrong lesson.

Conflict doesn't have to leave me feeling battered and bruised. What God has been getting into my head is that having disagreements is not bad, and we can all learn and grow if we deal with our differences in healthy, loving and honest ways. I need to be more honest with people when we get crossways with each other. I need to listen and say back what I hear, and I need to honestly describe my feelings and my position in a way that will allow more conversation. I also have to learn that one conversation will not always get it done. One is better than none, and two might be the beginning of healing.

I can't expect that people will understand me in one dose, and I will probably need to hear it more than once to understand someone else's position. That's more work, and it's more patience, and it's more grace and a need for more of God's love in my life. But if what God is trying to do in my life and in our church is worth anything, it's worth the effort to get conflict right. Not avoid it, which is my preferred dysfunction, or to make it a fight to the death, which is how it gets portrayed in a lot of people's experience. We need to listen to each other (me to you, you to me), and we need to remember that God is in charge, trying to make both of us more like Jesus.

So let me say it this way: I'm still feeling God work on me. If you're still feeling God work on you, then we're in the same boat. We have to be gentle with each other, but we also need to get 'stuff' out in the open and deal with it together. So let's purpose together to do our conflict better than ever so that we can grow more than ever and see God's kingdom expand further than ever.

From the Panhandle

I'm a little behind schedule on my Monday post because I flew to Post Falls for a conference (paid for by our Region, so thank God for Dr. Charles and Co.!!), and it was a mad rush to get from the Spokane Airport to the convention center, then right into the middle of the learning. The speaker is Jim Putman from Real Life Ministries here in Post Falls, one of the fastest growing churches in America. A 10 year old church, they had close to 9,000 people in 5 services this weekend, and they do some of the most amazing reach out stuff going in the Northwest. The most impressive part isn't that they have such a big crowd, though that does get your attention. No, what's really amazing about this church is the spiritual growth of it's people and how they go about creating an atmosphere where spiritual maturity happens. He's been talking about discipleship and what it means to help people grow in their relationship with God, a subject that gets a lot of discussion back in Pocatello, to be sure.

I'm in the midst of processing what he's saying while trying to understand what's been going on in the the life of our First Baptist Church family and what God has been teaching us. All the transitions of the last 30 months or so have left us asking some good questions about what we're supposed to be doing, what we're supposed to be learning and sharing, and what we're supposed to do about it when we see God stirring in our midst. We've known that discipleship is a major chunk of what we have to do to keep moving forward for a long time. Hiring Pastor Brian Neely was one major attempt to address the issue of increasing the level of spiritual maturity, and our attempts to re-vamp the Connection Group ministry are another.

I think we're getting closer to cracking the code of growing Christians in the culture where we live. Some of the parts are in place, and some of the pieces are still out there for us to find, but I believe we will soon be in position to reach, disciple and deploy and ever increasing number of Christ-followers in our valley for the Glory of God. It's going to take effort and sacrifice from lots of us, and a boatload of prayer and listening to God, but I'm more convinced today that we're getting closer to it than we've been in a long time.

There has been a good response to our series on prayer, and now the first of the Game Plan messages seemed to connect with folks. Here's my favorite connection: a couple people asked, "So what are we supposed to do when we get 'disturbed,' Bill?" Great question!! Keep listening, because I think God is going to let us know. If you're disturbed by the need for more and better discipleship in our church family, then keep praying, keep listening, and keep watching for God's lead, and be ready to jump on it when God shows it to us.

Meantime, I'll be taking good notes while I'm here, and we'll all see what God's up to.

Study Leave Book Reflection #4

The last of the four books I read on Study Leave. This one was more personal than the other three, but as I will share with you next week, it was the capstone set of ideas for the entire three weeks of spending time with God and studying. Props to my friends who have been telling me to read this, and props again to Dr. Charles for making it a part of our LLC reading this next year.

As always, I'll be happy to send the full reflection to anyone who wants it, and thanks to the folks who have requested other reviews. Enjoy!

Reflections on The Emotionally Healthy Church

Author: Peter Scazzero 223 pages. Published by Zondervan

Summary:

Scazzero is a pastor in Queens, New York who discovered that the training he received to be a pastor did not prepare him for personal emotional health, nor did it prepare him to lead people to real spiritual health which includes emotional health. The basis of the book is his own journey to discover the need for emotional health in his spiritual life, and how that has transformed his ministry and his church. The premise is that without emotional health, our spiritual growth as Christians is stunted. When we don’t allow God to work on our emotional health, we miss a portion of the grace, healing and wholeness that Jesus wants to work out in our lives. The five principles for emotional health that Scazzero puts forth are 1) Look beneath the surface, 2) Break the power of the past, 3) Live in brokenness and vulnerability, 4) Receive the gift of limits, and 5) embrace grieving and loss. The key is that emotional health begins in the life of the senior pastor, then needs to be practiced and mentored into the lives of the staff, leaders, volunteers and then onto the congregation of a church.

Catching Up On a Great Weekend

First off, a big THANK YOU to Paul Austin for his amazing message on Sunday. Having been on the sidelines at the ISU game in Boise all evening, then sitting on a bus for 4+ hours, getting in after 2 am, then preaching two services for us - what an effort! But more importantly, he let God use him to bring a powerful close to our Simply Pray series. If you didn't make it to worship, you need to get a copy of this message, God spoke clearly through Paul to tell us that paying attention to prayer matters, and God loves us enough to both listen and speak to us in prayer.

The next series up is Game Plan, talking about God's strategy for our lives. Yes, there is a movie by the same name, but no, this is not a Blockbuster. This is a series on faith, following God and staying focused. We start this Sunday, the kickoff of our ministry year, and I'm excited to see where God is taking us.

Speaking of where God is taking us, I need to ask a favor: if you are a regular in the 11 o'clock service, and if it's possible, could you move to the 9 o'clock service? We are filling up in the 11, and we have some space available in the 9, so if you could make that move, it would help us put off creating a third service for a little longer. The last two Sundays, with school back in session and people inviting their friends, we've been pretty full in the second service (even on a holiday weekend!!) It's a good problem to have, but we need to get a few details ironed out before we can launch a third service, and if we could get 25 people to move services, we would be in great shape for a couple more months. And keep praying and inviting folks, God is making a move!!

Last, but not least, I'm praising God for the amazing Leadership Team meeting we had on Saturday. You need to know that the leaders of our church are a committed, engaged, prayerful bunch of God-chasers. I'm proud to be a part of such a team, and I'm looking forward to the good that God is going to do in us and through us as a team and as a church. There is a lot to do, but we are on our way, and I'm feeling blessed by the whole experience.

I'll look for you on Wednesday night as we gather for one more Night of Prayer and give praise to God for all the good He's doing and going to do.

Study Leave Book Reflection #3

This book is not about sports! The term coaching is not exclusive to the arena of athletics, but most people instantly relate the two, and since I'm such a sports nut, I'm sure that seeing the title made most people think: "Bill read a football book on Study Leave!!" No, I did not. :)

I was introduced to the idea of coaching almost two years ago, and a friend gave me this book a while back. I've begun to incorporate more of the concepts and techniques in my ministry already, and it's helped in a number of ways. As always, if you want the rest of my reflection paper on this book, drop me an e-mail and let me know, I'll be glad to send it along!

Reflection on: Coaching For Performance

Author: John Witmore 180 pages. Published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing

Summary:

Sir John Witmore is co-owner and a trainer and lecturer for Performance Consultants, a company that teaches coaching to business leaders and managers around the UK and USA. He literally ‘wrote the book’ on the concept of coaching for increased performance, and many companies have used the principles he espouses to recreate the atmosphere of their companies in an ever changing business climate.

The over-simplified version of coaching is to help the person you are coaching find the answers for themselves through active listening and strategic questioning. As much as the word has connotations for athletics, coaching is not just a sports issue; its concepts are just as effective in other setting, from business to parenting to leading in ministry. It increases ownership and buy-in for people who are involved in the coaching and bringing the best out of them.

The idea that drawing out the answers (and even drawing the coachee to go and find the answers for themselves) instead of telling or instructing creates an atmosphere that allows the coachee to take responsibility and gives them a way to grow to their maximum potential, even if it is beyond the abilities and skills of the coach in the same area. The questions are broken into four segments: Goals – what do you want to accomplish? Reality – What is happening now? Options: what could you do? Will – What will you do? In each segment, the coach asks questions and allows the coachee to set the agenda, but directs the conversation to cover the steps to making decisions that will accomplish the goals.

While it seems like it will take more time to coach than to simply tell or direct, the truth is that the responsibility and attention, not to mention potential excitement generated in the coachee will make the oversight of the coachee take less time in the future.

The last few chapters of the book covered the surprising topics of coaching teams and the deeper, spiritual benefits of coaching that helps people find meaning and purpose in their lives.

So Far... GOD!

This is what I love about God working in our midst:

• Last Thursday, after the Night of Prayer asking God to move His kingdom forward through us, I was walking downtown for some lunch and ran into someone who attends our church sometimes. Out of they blue, they start talking to me about wanting to get baptized. Okay, apparently God was listening to our prayers...

• Someone came up to me after the message on Sunday and told me that they had been suffering with depression for a few months, but they came to our Night of Prayer last Wednesday and when they left, the depression had lifted. He was tearing up when he told me that he was so excited to be over it, and how blessed he felt just to be there.

• So many new people in the worship services, and so many of them looking ready to engage God at whatever level they could. All ages, all places in life, all different kinds of folks. It was especially cool to see our college students come back and bring friends with them their first Sunday back in town. And it was great to see first service fill up quite a bit. Love you, first service people!

• I could see people connecting to the song, "Better Hands Now" that Theresa sang, and having that extra element in the message helps it connect to people. I hope that piece went home with you, that God's hands are better hands to hold the struggles and issues of your life.

• I'm so proud of the Worship Team leading us into God's presence. Karl wasn't feeling well, but from where I was sitting, you couldn't tell. We're so blessed as a church family to have dedicated, talented, God-honoring, God-loving people to lead us in worship every week, but Sunday was a notch above.
  

• The Elders were excited to be leading the next Night of Prayer, and hoping to get the opportunity to pray for someone.

I'm looking forward to this week's Night of Prayer. We're also having a time of teaching/training afterward for anyone interested in fasting as a part of prayer, so plan to be there Wednesday and stick around for 20 minutes or so after for the training. God is on the move, and we need to be in step with Him.

Night of Prayer #1 Recap

All I can tell you is that it feels lighter around here today. I'm not sure if there have been any answers or if anyone else feels it, but it feels lighter around here. Prayer makes things happen, not in a "magic" way, but in God's way, and I think that the line got moved last night. Can't put my finger on it, but that's how it feels.

Big thanks to everyone who came and participated, and be sure to invite your friends along next week when we'll do some more praying. It wasn't big and splashy, but it was prayer that we needed to pray, and I'm grateful to everyone who made it.

And bonus props to Tawna Brockett who painted the three figures on the platform. I didn't know she was creating art for the Simply Pray series, but she created three figures in different postures of prayer that exactly depict what we're talking about the three messages in the series. Look at what God was already doing...

So we keep praying.

Night of Prayer - August 20

In 27 minutes, we will have our first of three Nights of Prayer as a part of the message series we're doing on the subject of prayer. Honestly, I'm a little nervous, it's been a long time since we did something like this, and there's a lot at stake. We're praying for God to do big things in our church family, for Him to break through on whatever the heart issue is that is holding back our financial health as a church, and we want to see His kingdom move ahead. That's all big time stuff.

This has to be important, because there have been so many distractions and discouragements in the last couple days that I'm losing count. Everything from the silly to the serious. I'm trying hard to focus on Jesus in the middle of this all, and the drive over here was a big help. I heard the new Third Day song "Call My Name," and I decided that would be a good idea. I am calling on Jesus to be here while we pray, and to help me concentrate while the distractions either resolve, disappear, or find some perspective. Nothing in our ministry here ever goes easy. Nothing. It's always an uphill battle for every inch of territory, and my hope is that tonight, we move the line. More to the point, we see God move the line. I'll let you know what happens, but keep praying, okay?

Study Leave Book Reflection #2

This is the second book I read on my Study Leave, one that several friends had recommended. I have always liked the idea of team as a metaphor for the church, even if the Bible doesn't use it. I think in our modern context, it works well and communicates much, especially to men who don't always feel comfortable in church.

That being said, I'm pretty sure that when it comes to dysfunctions, churches have as many as any other team, whether in the corporate world, the athletic world, or anywhere else you might look. This is a business book, but as you can see, the applications are clear for a church context without much translation. If you'd like to read the personal reflection portion of my paper, drop me an e-mail and I'll shoot you a copy.

REFLECTION ON 5 DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM

Author: Patrick Lencioni 230 pages. Published by Jossey-Bass

Summary:

Lencioni is a committed Christian who is a business consultant and performance coach. I first heard of him at the Leadership Summit two years ago. His books (this is my third of his) are written as a ‘Business Fable,’ the first part a work of fiction that highlights the need for and application of the principles he is attempting to communicate. The last part of the book is a summary of the principles and ways to apply them in real world settings.

This particular book is about the power of teamwork in the workplace and how, without it, a more talented and better resourced team can fall into habits and situations that hold them back from their full potential. In the case of this fable, the department heads that formed the executive staff of a software company, but the application to a church Leadership Team were obvious. The dysfunctions are: Lack of Trust, Fear of (constructive, positive) Conflict, Lack of Commitment (to the decisions made by the team), Avoidance of Accountability (to each other and to the team), and finally, Inattention to Results.

The ‘cure’ for each of these dysfunctions would be – build a foundation of trust so that there is positive, helpful conflict over ideas that do not damage relationships, therefore allowing each team member to share how they feel, positive or negative, about each idea. When conflict is working in a team, there is greater buy-in to decisions, even when a team member had issues and even strong opinions against it, because they had their opportunity to be heard and their ideas on the subject vetted by the entire team. This creates a higher level of accountability (and requires a higher level of accountability) among the team as they all hold each other to a higher standard of functionality in the wake of team-created decisions. All this leads to placing a higher value on results, because instead of individual performance being the focus, the good of the whole team is the greater consideration, and the positive results of the entire operation will be the standard of measure for everyone.

Study Leave Book Reflection #1

I'm posting the summary portion of the reflection papers I wrote and gave to the Elder Team for each of the books I read on my Study Leave. There are more personal reflections that accompany these summaries, and if you want to read those, drop me an e-mail and I'll send you a copy.

This is the first book I read on Study Leave. It's one that I've had on my shelf for a year and was apprehensive about picking up because I knew I wouldn't be able to put it down. I was right, so thank God for a Study Leave to focus some time on learning.

Reflection on HOLY DISCONTENT

Author: Bill Hybels 155 pages. Published by Zondervan

Summary:

Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in the suburbs of Chicago, is one of the leading pastors in America, and some would say in the world. He writes about the burning passion that drives people in whatever world-changing endeavors they pursue. God has placed a passion in the heart of every person, and as we live our lives, there will be crystallizing moments that reveal what our passion is. Those ‘burning bush’ moments are the beginning of what he calls Holy Discontent; a stirring, a burning in our soul to make a difference, to change what is wrong, to see justice prevail, to bring about positive transformation in our broken, unfair, problem ridden world. By using both biblical characters and stories from his own journey and those of people he knows, Hybels builds a case for finding our Holy Discontent and developing it into a world-changing passion in our lives. He outlines the steps to finding and feeding that discontent, and how to turn it into action and keep the flame burning.

Back In The Office

I've come to realize I probably need to post more often, so I'm going to try, feel free to pray for me.

Some issues at the end of my Study Leave: first, it was a productive time, with 4 very helpful and important books that I read, a bunch of sermon work that got done, and four very effective meetings that took place (though the meetings were not originally supposed to be a part of the Study Leave). I will post my reflections on each of the books over the next 4 weeks, and you can see for yourself what God was trying to say to me and to our church family as well. I'd love to hear your comments on the reflections.

The two sermons I wrote while away are coming up the next two weeks, and honestly, I've never written a sermon before the week I was going to give it, so this will be a new experience. The series is called "Simply Pray", and I'm looking forward to it in a whole new way after these last few Sunday's messages during the Blockbuster series. Endure, trust, believe, die to self: these are all leading our church family toward something God is trying to say to us and build in us, so the next logical step is to talk to Him about it all. Can't wait to see what God does when we go to prayer with all that He's already giving us.

Just so you know, coming back early to share with the congregation about the financial situation Sunday was not a hard decision, but I wish I hadn't had to make it. If you weren't there, I came back a day early in order to share with the church family that we are 25% behind in our giving from last year, and last year we weren't meeting expenses, either, so something needed to be said. I hate begging for money, so I didn't do that, I just pointed out that, with attendance up over last year, it was obvious that this was not really a money issue, it's a heart issue. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also," so we know that people are willing to come and willing to bring their friends to church, but not everyone's heart is in it. We are going to pray, listen, and then obey what God is telling us on this, and hopefully we can see some breakthrough. Please keep that in prayer. But I want you to know that I believe in this church family, I believe in God's promises for us, and I believe in my role here as the pastor, so it was not hard to decide to be here and be the one to tell folks what's going on. I love this church, and I am living in the hope that God is going to fix what's in our hearts and continue to use us to make a difference in the Portneuf Valley for Christ.

One more thing you need to know: the Elder Team and I met twice in the last two weeks for a total of 10 hours. We studied the Bible together, prayed together, shared our hearts and our past, and we pounded out the Guiding Principles and Goals for the 2008-2009 ministry year. I am so excited to be working with these guys, they are dedicated, open to learn, and ready to trust God for big things. Once we get the typos all cleaned up, you will be able to get a copy of both of those documents from the church office via e-mail or hard copy. I'm looking forward to what God has for us this year in way that is fresh and exciting. I hope you will pray for and participate in what God is up to in this church family.

So, back in the office today, and back in the pulpit on Sunday. We'll see if I remember how to do this. :)