First THRIVE - Day 1

I'm whipped, so I'm going to bed, but I've got to share this much about my first day at my first Thrive conference.

• Musical Worship - Off. The. Chain. The Katinas, Lincoln Brewster, what a huge amount of talent pointed toward Heaven and turned loose. It was great stuff, from great guys with great hearts. Beth went to Lincoln Brewster's breakout session, and says he's got a great heart, and true priorities about family and ministry. Plus he played a Journey song, so he's that much more coolest. "When the lights... go down... in the city..."
• Teaching - Ray Johnston, Miles McPhereson, and top it off with John Maxwell tonight, that's a powerhouse line up, and I'm totally jacked about what they were saying. Biggest take away: God is telling us we need to jump up and get into the community to share Jesus with people in a real way. Earning the right to share the love of Jesus. Great stuff, and right in line with what we've been hearing at LifePoint.
• Breakout session - Heard a guy named David Chow, former pastor, now a coach and a great dude who did a great job talking on the subject of Strengths Based Leadership. Leading people with your strengths, and bringing out the strengths in others. Sounds like the job description of every pastor in America. Sure is mine.

Gotta sleep, but can't wait to see what God says tomorrow.

I Need A Do-Over

Ever have one of those moments you wish you could get back? If you read my last post, I said I was worried about going all 'fan-boy' on John Maxwell, a hero of mine and the speaker at this dinner I was invited to before the Thrive Conference. So now, hours after the event, I can share the news:

• Good News - I didn't fan-boy on him. I was cool, calm and collected. I did notice that he's amazing at working the room, totally saw him connecting before he communicated (yes, I'm buying his new book!), and when he did speak, he was powerful, poignant, pertinent and whatever p-word means "he encouraged the daylights out of me!!" It was great to be there, to see him do his thing, to hear him pump up a room full of leaders, and leave us all wanting more.
• Bad News - I believe I now understand the phrase "Epic Fail" in a personal way. Let me explain:

My friend John Jackson is one of the key leaders of this event, and he had saved me a seat with him at one of the front tables. I walked over, and there were indeed three seats saved. I assumed (rightly) that one was for me, one for John Jackson, but I wasn't sure who the other one was for. So after introductions, they dismissed us to go through the line and get food. I did, and soon I'm eating with the other three guys at the table. John J. was still talking, so I was still sitting next to two empty but saved seats.

So when John Maxwell walked over to the table and looked at the empty seat... it happened so fast... I couldn't believe it was over before I could take it back... I'm such a rule follower... GGGHHHHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

John Maxwell asked if he could sit at the table with us, and I said, "I'm sorry, but John Jackson was saving those seats, and I don't know who they are for, Mr. Maxwell."

Like I said. Epic Fail.

He was gracious and kind, walked to another table and proceeded to enrich the lives of everyone there while I sat and drank my iced tea and wallowed in my epic fail-ness. John Jackson came over and sat down, and yes, he had wanted to save that seat for someone else, but that person never sat down, and he would have been okay... I'm going to stop there.

So, like I said. I didn't fan-boy. Nope. Not me. I obeyed social etiquette to a fault. A huge, epic fail of a fault.

Sigh...

The talks were great, I got a lot out of them, then went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. More on THRIVE tomorrow.

Something A Little Dangerous...

Tomorrow I'm going to do something a little...dangerous. I'm going to break one of the unwritten rules of life: Never Meet Your Heroes In Real Life.

The idea goes like this: when you have a hero, someone you look up to and admire from a distance, they most likely cannot live up to your idea of them in real life. So don't meet them, because they will let you down. Have you ever heard something like that?

In my life, I've had a couple opportunities to meet people I've admired. I have met Rick Warren a couple times, even got his autograph. I teared up a little when I told him thanks for all the help he's given me in ministry. I met Dan Southerland a couple times, once at a conference where I got to have lunch with him, and we talked a lot. I mean a lot. He talks almost as much as me. Almost.

I got to wave at Bill Hybels once. In a parking lot. Not the same. But he did wave back.

So Wednesday, I get to go to a dinner at Bayside Church in Sacramento. At the dinner will be my friend and the founding pastor of LifePoint Church, John Jackson. Also there will be the Senior Pastor of Bayside, Ray Johnston. I'm excited to be with those guys and experience their Thrive Conference, but I'm not nervous about them. It's the other guy.

John Maxwell is a leadership guru, author, speaker, force-of-nature, and he's going to be at dinner tomorrow. I'm a big fan. Big fan. Some of his books are some of the most important things I've ever read (non-Bible division). I've heard him on CD, I've read his blog, I've read a bunch of his books, and his latest is on my 'must have' list. And I get to have dinner with him.

Is he Jesus? No. Does it make me a better person because I'm having dinner with him? NO. Does it make me special, a better leader or taller to be in the same room as him? Sadly, no. But learning and gleaning from a great leader of leaders can't hurt me. I'm hoping I get some gems of wisdom to take home with me, but I'm just hoping that I can keep my expectations in check. He's a man. A man of God, a leader, a teacher, a great example of maximizing the gifts God gives a person, but a man nonetheless. I hope I can learn from him and not over expect of him. That would make for a great evening.

And I hope I don't do a full on 'fan-boy' on him. Pray for me. :)

Is It Okay To Feel Good?

Just got done with an amazing weekend at LifePoint Church. Some pieces:

• Over 170 women came together for the Beth Moore simulcast. I stopped in to see the crowd, and what an amazing sight. Heard nothing but great comments about the teaching - what would happen if all 300,000 women who were watching around the country started living without insecurities and taught their daughters and sisters how to do the same? I love the thought of that! I'm excited for what's going to happen when the women of the Carson Valley get it going on like that around here!
• We got to celebrate 15 baptisms this weekend! That has to get your pulse pounding! I love seeing the faces of people when they come up out of the water and hear their church family cheer for them, there's nothing like seeing the joy on the faces of people going public with their faith. I LOVE MY JOB!
• I'm hearing that the men's groups are filling up and getting ready to launch new groups. I'm so glad to hear the Spirit moving in the lives of guys, it's always good for the church family when men are getting lined up with God's plan.
• There's a group of people getting ready for their trip to Africa next month. God is already teaching and growing the team as they are preparing to go, and we'll get to pray for them and send them out next week. What I'm really looking forward to is the stories of what God does in them and through them while they're there.
• Invisible Children are going to be here on Wednesday night. I know the youth staff are fired up about having them come, and hearing from one of the child soldiers that was rescued out of that awful situation should be powerful.
• Last but not least: THRIVE is next week! This is my first one, so I'm extra excited. I'll be blogging about that more later, but just know that I'm fired up to learn, grow and see what's working at other churches next week.

So, is it okay if I'm feeling good about what God's up to these days?

I know that there are ups and downs on the journey of following Jesus, but right now, let's ride the high! Let's enjoy the excitement and the energy of the momentum God is building. Let's build on the good that's happening and push out in faith toward what Christ is calling us to next. What do you say?

Looking For A Response

So today at LifePoint Church, we were on the second message of the Make The Connection series, talking about small group life. Last week was well received, and this week, same thing. Pastor Mark Marsella and the Growth Group team put together a Connect Expo so that, right after the message, people wouldn't have to leave the worship center, but could walk right over to a row of tables, all manned by group leaders, to sign up and get into a group.

Here's what happened: There were a good number of folks who walked over on Saturday night, but today, in both services, there was a mob! Folks were hanging out and talking at the tables for a long time after each service (yes, I intentionally finished early, so there was extra time, but still...), and as I walked by the tables afterward, lots and lots of names were on the sign up sheets!

Reflecting on the experience today, here's what I think was going on:

First, the folks at LifePoint are excited to take God's Word seriously in their lives. Big thanks to Dr. John Jackson for leading them in that direction! It's fun to talk to a church full of people who are all ready to step up and follow the clear directions of the scripture.

Second, people are hungry for connection. People want to know and be known, love and be loved, serve and be served. At a time when technology has us wired, we're still longing for connection. I can't wait to see what happens at LifePoint as the relationships develop and people grow stronger together. The impact in the Carson Valley, and around the world, will be epic!

Way to go, Lifers!!

A Lesson on Waiting Rooms

After big events like Easter weekend, I tend to have some kind of let down. I always attribute it to the adrenaline and excitement surrounding the big days that, when it subsides, leaves my body a little more vulnerable to the bugs in the air. I thought this year was going to be different, since for a whole week after Easter I was doing really well. My energy was up, my enthusiasm was high, the rush of all God did at LifePoint this Easter was fresh on my mind and heart, so I was going great! The first weekend of the new series, Make The Connection was really good, with a good turnout and tremendous feedback.

Then Monday hit.

I woke up to get Mac off to school, and I was sick. I went back to bed and slept most of the morning. When I did wake up, I was coughing and feeling miserable. I dragged myself down to the Urgent Care Center in Minden to get looked at, and found a waiting room full of people.

Turns out I wasn't the only one sick in the Carson Valley.

So I waited. They had been slammed all day, with many admissions to the local hospital, so they were very backed up. So I waited. And I waited. I Tweeted my Twitter and I waited. I watched Food Channel and I waited. I finally got back into an exam room, and then... I waited. Finally, the doctor showed up, looked in my ears, listened to my lungs, told me I had bronchitis, and sent me on my way. Three hours (not joking) of waiting for a five minute visit to tell me what I already knew.

When I got better this week, I realized that sometimes people have the same experience with church. They come, expecting something, but instead, they wait around for something to happen. They think it's going to be good, but sometimes, in the waiting, they lose sight of why they came. They know there's something good supposed to happen, but they end up being somewhat entertained, but not really. And they wait. And if they finally get where they thought they wanted to go, it seems somewhat anticlimactic. "I knew that already."

Instead of warehousing people, instead of creating a big waiting room for people to hang out in and be somewhat entertained, what if we offered real help and real connections for people when they arrived? What if, instead of waiting to see a pastor, we had lots of people who could offer assistance, care, compassion, a listening ear, and even training to be involved. Instead of passively waiting, folks could get actively involved in something, what would that be like?

That's why the shift in churches has been toward being more missional, more focused on getting folks connected and actively involved in their own faith journey, rather than passively sitting around waiting on someone else. It makes a difference in the lives of people much more quickly, and more effectively. Here's what I mean:

One of our leaders recruited unchurched people to come be a part of her ministry during our Easter weekend. Those people might have never set foot in church otherwise, but because of their connection this leader, they came. They attended a service to see what this was all about, despite having no intention of doing so at first, and they heard the gospel loud and clear. The impact was real: afterward, they wanted to know more.

Not sitting around watching a show, but connected relationally and actively participating as they had a chance to connect to Jesus. What if church was like that, and not so much like a waiting room? Would Jesus smile?

Easter At LifePoint, Part 2

Tuesday, and stories are coming in about lives impacted by the weekend at LifePoint Church:

• One person let me know that they led people to Christ at the dinner table over an Easter meal after the services on Sunday. You have to know how fired up that makes me! That's the definition of teamwork: The worship team opens the door, I tell the story, someone else walks people they know across the finish line, Jesus wins!!
• Some folks told a staffer that they are moving here soon, were visiting again over the holiday weekend, stopped in and were touched by the service. Now they can't wait to get back and get involved.
• Children's ministry folks heard that some of the first time volunteers were seriously looking to jump on board more regularly after Easter. Yahoo!!
• One person who did kids ministry most of the services got to pray with six kids to receive Christ!! That NEVER gets old!
• Hearing multiple stories of folks coming to multiple services in order to bring more friends to hear about Jesus.
• Folks at Guest Central noticed that more and more of our regulars were bringing their friends to the Guest Central counter to introduce them and help them get connected. WAY TO GO LIFERS!!!
• One college student ended up with eight invite tickets from all the Lifers they knew inviting them. Nice!!
• One person noticed that we had plenty of volunteer help this year. Folks stepped up and offered their time and energy to help - very servant-hearted!!
• Lots and lots of comments, notes, postings and phone calls about how folks were touched and even moved by the Friday night service and how God moved even after the lights went out. If you missed that, look here for part of the story.

And there's more where that came from! If you have a story from the Easter weekend at LifePoint, make a point to post it here. Let's share what God has done!

Easter At LifePoint, Part 1

I'm so excited about what God did at LifePoint Church this weekend, I want to sing and jump up and down, but I'm my throat hurts and I'm wiped out, so my heart is dancing (or, as my friend Stacy likes to say, "my heart is pink and full of Spanish!")!!

So the first of six services was Friday night, and everything had come together. The message was done, and I got to see the dance number I in it's entirety that morning, and it looked great. A few tweaks to the order of service, and we felt like it was ready. All week we had been praying for the light board to work, and it was working great. So, 6 pm rolls around, and we start. The first song, then the dance number go off amazingly well, and the crowd was into the experience.

Then the lights flickered hard, like they wanted to go out, but came back up. All that did was take out the media and jack up the lights, but it all got put back in place pretty fast, so by the middle of the next song, it was all up and running like normal. All through it, the band played on, and the congregation sang, or tried to without the words on the screen. Pretty cool, and just a great bunch of work by the band and the team working sound and media.

So I got up to start the message, and it's rolling along well, the crowd was following right along, when suddenly, about 2/3 through, the lights flicker hard again... and stay out. Totally. Pitch. Black.

The emergency lights come on, and the crowd all laughs at the predicament. They start telling me to keep going, so I joke, "I can't see my notes!" Someone in the crowd comes up with a flashlight, and I kept going, pushing my voice a bit to get to the back row, but not too bad (years of football coaching comes in handy!).

The kids ministry folks do an amazing job keeping the kids calm and still focused, and word was that five kids received Christ in their service. Wow.

So after the service, I'm super proud of the team and all the work to get through what was obviously a difficult situation with more than just grace, but also with great presence of mind and real ministry hearts. But I'm feeling a little down that people will walk away and remember what a great job we did to finish out the service, but they won't remember Jesus.

Then, Saturday morning, I'm at the gym when a lady comes up and introduces herself to me. She tells me that she had three people she invited who had either never been to church or never been to LifePoint. She said they had a wonderful experience, and they were really excited about coming back.

I was stunned. Turns out God works, not only in the dark, but in my moment of doubt. I was worried that folks wouldn't see Jesus in all that chaos, but the truth is, He shined brighter than ever for those who needed Him the most.

That story did more to stoke my fire than anything else could have. Every service after that, I walked to the platform knowing that God was there, whether people were there to see the dance, hear the band, listen to me or for any other reason they might have listed. God was there, and He was making Himself known to people far from Him.

Such a blessing. Thank you to all the Lifers for praying, inviting, serving, giving and showing up to see Jesus be famous in our valley. And thanks to the guy who loaned me the flashlight. :)

More later...

Praying a 'Paul Prayer' for Easter

I try to take time every day to spend reading the Bible and praying just for me. As much as I'm reading and studying for messages, teaching opportunities, etc... I want and need time for me and Jesus to talk, not just for what I can share with others. It helps me focus and stay grounded, and I have always struggled with keeping it regular in my life. I'm doing better these days, and calling it my Priority Time instead of my Quiet Time has helped, but that's a post for a different day.

I was reading in Colossians the other day, and Paul asks for the church folk there to pray for him. Pray that he would get opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with folks. Then, in chapter four, verse four he says, "Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should." That has really resonated with me this week.

I need to proclaim the message of the Resurrection as clearly as I should. Clear enough that folks understand that this is the hinge issue of the entire Christian faith. That this one event is the focal point of all of history. That this one piece of the puzzle is what makes the rest of the Bible and the rest of life itself make any sense. I need to get that point across as clearly as I should, so that there is no mistaking what we believe.

We as Christ followers don't believe in the philosophy and teaching of a man, or the crazy stuff he said. We believe that Jesus died a public death and was raised to life again in front of witnesses who, in turn, gave their lives for what they saw. It is powerful, life changing truth, and it needs to be spoken clearly.

So pray for me, that I might proclaim the truth of the Resurrection this weekend as clearly as I should. And pray for all the other preachers who are going to do the same thing. And pray for the musicians, the greeters, the servers, the parking attendants, the children's workers, and the singers to all do the same thing: to proclaim the powerful truth of the Resurrection as clearly as we should. This is too important to be unclear. It's too powerful to let it slip by. It's too vital to miss. Pray that I and my co-laborers in Christ will all proclaim it as clearly as we should!!

God bless, and may Easter bring effective ministry to us all in Jesus' most powerful name!