Focus In A Busy Season

Today is Saturday. I'm in the office early because we have a Community Group Leader training, and I'm going to be introducing our 40 Days Of Prayer material to the group leaders. I'm really fired up about it, and I think that the campaign will be a help to people who are looking for a deeper connection to Christ right now.

Later, Mac and I have a football game in Fort Hall. The Lions need a win, and today is a good day to go get one.

Later, I have to pack for a retreat in Post Falls with some of the staff. Gary McIntosh, an author and speaker is the main presenter, and I'm expecting to learn a lot.

Later, I have to finish my message for Sunday. It's the last one in the Beautiful series, and I think it's going to have a huge impact on both women and men in our congregation. It's about being ready for God to move in your life, and I think God is getting ready to do a big move in our church, so it's a timely message for all of us.

Later, I have a surprise Birthday party to go to. I can't tell you who, when or where, because it's a surprise. :)

Later, I have to sleep so I can get up and share God's message on Sunday, then get in a car and drive to Post Falls.

So, in order to keep focus on the right things with an agenda that is pushing the limits of full, RIGHT NOW I NEED TO PRAY! Right now is the time to get my head right, to listen to what He has to say to me, and to dedicate my day to His glory, not mine. My day may not include a 20 minute window for prayer, but it may include 20 windows of 3 minutes each, and I need to take every one of them. When I'm 'too busy' in my life, I have to make sure I'm not too busy to pray.

What about you? What do you do to maintain a connection to God during the busy seasons of your life?

Today Is A Day To Get Excited!!

I'm fired up today, which for a Tuesday, is a special feeling! Here's why:

• Sunday was an amazing worship day! Baptisms are always a great time at FBC, and our two candidates were excited, nervous, and blessed! Their friends and family that they invited were able to see them go public with their faith, and we as their church family got to welcome them with cheering into the family! Can't wait for the next one! (Thank you to everyone who serves, prays and gives to the ministry at FBC, we see the hand of God moving, and it's because of your faithfulness!)
• The message was a tough one for some folks, bringing up some of the struggles and brokenness in some people's lives, but pointing them toward God's grace and healing. Celebrating the forgiveness of Jesus in the elements of communion was a holy moment, especially for those who were connecting that their sexual past is something that God wants to forgive. It was tremendously powerful.
• Monday was an amazing ministry day. Aaron and Janaye Floyd welcomed their brand new son, Issac, into the world, and I got to go see them at the hospital and hold their blessing in my arms for a moment. Love that new baby smell! Big brother Micah has his work cut out for him. It was fun to see both sets of his grandparents in the room and think about the spiritual legacy that Issac will inherit. Generations of Christ followers loving, teaching, modeling and praying for him.
  
• I also had the privilege of standing with a family that Beth and I know as they said goodbye to their husband/brother/friend. A long battle with cancer finally took the life of a warrior. But Jesus was there, the Holy Spirit bringing comfort, and God the Father taking Shane by the hand.
• I'm fired up today with the opportunity to work on my message for Sunday. Finishing up the Beautiful series strong and setting up the next series - 40 Days of Prayer that starts October 4. God has been working through the messages and the conversations that they have sparked. Praise God for the women in the church, and for the women in my life.
  
• The bonus of today is that the staff is having lunch with our Senior Saints! Just a relaxed, no agenda, sit down and touch base conversation at a local restaurant. (Seniors: If you can make it, give the office a call and let us know you're coming before noon. If you can't make it, we'll do it again soon!)

God is working in our midst, and the fruit is getting ripe! Fall is the time of harvest, and we're starting to see some. Can't wait to see where this is all going!!

Why You Should Bring a Friend This Sunday

The deal with church is as simple as it gets: people are more willing to come with someone than they are to come alone, and survey after survey tells us that people would attend church if someone they ALREADY KNOW invited them to come. So if you're fired up about what God is doing in your life, or if you're fired up about what God is doing in our church family, or if you are fired up about the people in your life finding forgiveness and a fresh start from Jesus, here's three reasons why you should target this Sunday to invite a friend and bring them with you to FBC:

1. Baptisms - We have three people lined up to get baptized this Sunday!! Three people who have found Jesus and are going public with their faith, three people who have been nurtured and encouraged by our church family, and three people that are ready to celebrate the life change that God is bring in their lives right now! As a church, we do and AWESOME job of celebrating people stepping from death to life, and this Sunday will be no different. Bring a friend to come see the celebration of changed lives!!
2. Grace - the message will be about grace. God's grace in our lives, the amazing, wonderful, powerful, life changing grace of Jesus for all of us who have ever blown it in our lives. The message will be clearly about the forgiveness and restoration that Jesus wants to bring in the lives of people, and your friends who need to know that God loves them and wants to forgive them NEED TO HEAR THIS MESSAGE!! Especially the woman who has something in her past that is haunting her today. God wants to set some people free from the guilt of their past this week. Bring a friend to hear a message of freedom!
3. Jesus will be there!! The truth is, none of the 'events' of the day are more important than the presence of Jesus. The music, the message, even the baptisms are nothing without the living presence of God in the room. And He has promised to be there!! Your friend that needs hope, help or healing in their life needs a touch from Jesus, and the Bible promises that Jesus is there when we gather in His name.
   

I'm fired up about this Sunday! I'm fired up about the lives God is changing, the work He is doing in my life and the lives of others, and whatever surprises He has in store for us along the way. Bring a friend and let them see and hear the truth of God's grace this Sunday. You won't regret it, and maybe someday soon, you'll be the one lighting a candle for them (or even getting to do the dunking!) when Jesus changes their life forever!!

See you Sunday!!

What A Pastor Learns From Coaching Football

This is the fourth year of my football coaching career, and after a long, busy weekend of football and church, I have finally been able to put into words what I think I've learned about being a pastor by coaching youth football. Could be more later, but for now, lets go with these:

• I can't do it all. As a football coach, I'm on the sidelines, I'm at practice, I'm calling plays and sometimes time outs. I'm making substitutions, and putting players in position to succeed the best I can, BUT I NEVER MAKE A TACKLE! I don't do the work; I can't. Even if I could, I'm just one guy, and it would take 10 more to make the defense work. I have to do my work through others in football. It's the same in church! I can't do all the ministry, and I've tried very hard the last few years to learn how to minister through others to reach more and more people. I'm always trying to put people in position to succeed, and trying to get the 'plays' called so that we have the best chance to win.
  
• You can't win them all. I wish I could say that there was a formula to guarantee success in sports, but there's not. Sometimes, you work hard, you get the right people in the right places, and you still come up short. Bad bounce, bad breaks, or superior opponents, even illness or injury can change the outcome of a game. You try to do your best, give your all, but sometimes you come up short. I tell the players on the team to win with class and lose with dignity. Good advice in church, too. We don't always win. Ideas don't always pan out, but instead of getting upset, blowing up, pouting or other unhelpful responses, going forward with dignity and a posture of learning from defeat makes more sense.
• Winning feels good! Yeah, this is a 'duh' statement, but it's true. When we win a football game, all the work, all the effort, all the conditioning and practice feels worth it. It feels GOOD! When the church wins, we all can celebrate and NEED TO REJOICE! We can and should feel good about the wins we see in the church, whenever God's kingdom moves forward. We have a great opportunity to see some of that this weekend with baptisms, so don't miss it, and don't forget to clap and cheer!!
• There's more than one way to win. Seeing a player grow from an uncoordinated 5th grader into a young man with speed and agility in the 8th grade is an amazing experience. There are a handful of kids who've been with us for the full four years, and measuring their growth in their understanding of the game, their ability and skills, and most importantly, their character, has been the best part of this experience. I wouldn't trade that for anything. The same is true of some of the people in my church. Watching men decide to follow Jesus, then lead their families, or watching someone who was afraid to pray in front of a small group of their friends turn into a person of prayer and a leader in the church, those experiences are priceless. I love being a pastor for moments like that.

If I think of any more before the Lions finish the season this year, I'll pass them on. Meantime, we're 1-2 after this weekend, with a road game at Aberdeen on Saturday night. Feel free to pray for Coach Bill to do his best to coach the kids and represent Jesus.

Could NOT have said it better...

Mark Driscol, Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I love this guy, he challenges me, he pushes me, and...

he's funny.

Enjoy!

Silence...

The pressure of football practice and our first game last week (a two point loss for the Lions, revenge will come in the playoffs!!), and getting things in shape for the 40 Days of Prayer campaign coming in October have left me little time to blog, so sorry if you've been looking and not finding here. I'm hoping that after this weekend, I'll be able to get back to regular. Plus I'm still trying to 'debug' the book reviews from Study Leave, I'm having HTML problems of unknown origin. Soon!

Today I'm having the first relaxing day off in a couple months that doesn't involve a long drive or flight, so I'm chilling out and recharging the batteries. Don't underestimate the power of rest in our hurried world. I can't hear from God if I'm too tired to listen.

I will post some more on the Beautiful series (so far, lots of good stuff God is getting done in the lives of women AND men in this series!), and let you know what has me fired up about 40 Days of Prayer when the dust settles next week. Meantime, pray for me, we have a game Saturday night in Bear Lake (90 minutes south of here), and that's going to make for a long weekend. I think the Lions have a great chance to win, and Mac will get the start at both tight end and safety, so pray for him to stay healthy and have enough gas in the tank to go both ways for the full game.

Yes, I promised not too much of 8th grade football on this blog, but this one is important! :)