Help Against Temptation

As I promised on Sunday, here's a post of some Bible verses that can help you in the fight against some specific temptations. These are not magic bullets, but if you put them in your mind, as Psalm 119 say, hide them in your heart, they can be one way of resisting temptation. If you have more to add to the list, feel free to post (anonymously if you wish) so others can benefit. Here are a few:

Help with thought life:

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 1 Cor. 10:5

Help with bad influences:

Do no be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 1 Cor. 15:33

Help with sexual temptations:

Run away from sexual sin! 1 Cor. 6:18

Help against looking at porn:

I will set before my eyes no vile thing. Psalm 101:3

Help against gossip:

Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. Proverbs 26:20

Help with too much alcohol:

Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the holy Spirit fill and control you. Ephesians 5:18

Help against temptation to cheat on your wife:

Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. Proverbs 5:18

Help against causing arguments:

Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. Proverbs 20:3

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. Romans 12:19

Help dealing with anger:

"In your anger do not sin": do not let the sun go down while you are still angry Ephesians 4:26

Help with stealing:

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Ephesians 4:28

Help with cursing/lying/gossip:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

Help with eating issues:

Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4

Here's a few, add some more, and let's help each other defeat temptation in our lives!

One Lesson From New Orleans

It's been a long week, and my emotions and thoughts have been all over the map and back. This is my first attempt to communicate them outside of my head, so bear with me.

I'm so grateful that when we asked for feedback from our Community Groups about the financial situation and the announcement about staffing cut backs that so many of the groups took the time and made the effort to share their thoughts and feelings. We have received a tremendous amount of feedback, and for all of you who shared, I want to say, "thank you!" As difficult as it was to read some of it, it had to have been difficult to share, so again, thank you very much for making the effort. I believe God is going to use this to benefit all of us.

One of the whispers I heard from God while in New Orleans last week seems to relate to what we've been experiencing here in our FBC family. When I started in on the project to clean up and prepare the fireplace mantle, someone walking by stopped and said, "Remember, you need to go with the grain of the wood." At first, I was startled by that, since there were so many layers of paint on the mantle one could hardly tell that it was even made of wood, much less see or think about the grain of the wood. However, there was much truth in what they said. Getting the cracked, mildew stained paint off was not the only thing that needed to happen to restore the mantle to it's former beauty. We could take off the paint, but if we tore up the wood underneath, we'd ruin the whole project.

As we slathered paint stripper compound on, then worked to pull off the paint layer by layer, I kept hearing that whisper in my head: "Work with the grain." After several hours, I began to realize that it wasn't just my new friend's good advice about the project, it was God's good advice about our church family. There is a grain in the wood of our church, and while it's not always visible, tangible or directly noticeable, nevertheless it is there. And no matter what the hoped for outcome of the work, when we go against the grain, we risk damaging the wood.

Despite my best intentions and my best efforts, I believe I have led in some areas that have gone against the grain of the wood here at FBC. For that I must apologize. There will need to be some repair work done in relationships, and there will need to be some more apologies given, but I want you all to know that I'm sorry for any damage I've caused, and I'm working on how we repair it. Your feedback, whether it was meant to blister or to bless, has been very helpful. Together, I believe we can continue to build what God wants built here in the Portneuf Valley.

See you on Sunday!

New Orleans - Home and Hopeful

For those outside the Portneuf Valley, the Mission Team made it home safe, even in time to catch the last half of the ISU game. There's a lot more to process, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and I think God is still whispering lessons in my ear about the whole deal, so while I'm trying hard to listen and learn, enjoy these photos:

Making myself useful -

Gene on a scaffolding, making the windows into the highlights of the trip -


Praying together with the Indiana team for Steve -


Bret working on the fireplace mantle -

The three of us with Steve -


I'll post more pics when I get them from the Indiana crew, they got a lot more. Again, thanks to everyone who prayed for us, and the support and encouragement we got was amazing. Thanks especially to Jean, Missy and Beth for being so supportive for us while we were away.

New Orleans - Day 5 - Last Day

We tried to get the mantle done, but the Indiana team needed to get on the road around noon, so there was a deadline. Since they had all the tools, and all the help, and were our ride back to the hotel, we had to shut it down whenever they told us to. Gene finished his last window and was helping inside while Bret and I raced against the clock. The mantle had a 60 year head start on us, and was very determined to hold all of it's paint.

Doug from the Indiana team helped us. He has three boys about Bret's age, so the conversation ranged all over the place. He's a Dave Ramsey fan as well, so we had much to talk about. We scraped, used stripper compound, poured sweat and gave it all we had. No break on Friday morning we discovered, we were working right through.

Finally, at about 12:15, they called us off the job. We had to get the site cleaned up and put away for Steve. We really did get a lot of projects done in and out of the house, and now, we had to put it away and get ready to leave. The mantle was about 85-90% done, but that's all we had time to do. There was a hint of disappointment in my heart, I must confess, but we knew coming in that we might have to leave things unfinished. Here it was. Last day, and unfinished business.

As we gathered to say goodbye to Steve, there was genuine gratitude in his eyes. There were tears in the eyes of some others in the group, too. Tom was asked to say the closing prayer, and as Steve held hands with two people who were strangers to him on Monday, he looked positively radiant. Tom's voice cracked under the emotions of the moment as he thanked God for allowing us to serve Him by allowing us to serve Steve. A holy moment. Then another: Steve said there were four words that were running through his head all morning, "God has blessed me." I know he meant it. That's a long way to go, from not wanting people to pray for him to acknowledging that he has been blessed by God.

There were hugs all around afterward, and a couple more pictures, then we rolled off to the hotel to go in different directions. The Indiana team had to get to their overnight accommodations somewhere between here and there, and we needed to get to the French Quarter for a last look around and dinner. Jambalaya, y'all. Couple times we were asked where we were from and what we were doing in town. There's a couple of football games in town over the weekend, so lots of tourists. When we told them about the mission trip, we got genuine gratitude from everyone. Some asked for details, others gave us handshakes and real eye contact when they said, "Thank you." That was cool.

Got an early flight tomorrow, then the drive home from Salt Lake. I've got a lot to process and a lot to pray about. Thanks again to all who prayed for us, we really felt lifted up while were were down here. To quote Steve, "God has blessed me." Thank you.

New Orleans - Day 4

The star of the show has been Gene. He's a guy who's good with his hands, and pretty fearless on a ladder, so he got the jobs that required those particular skills. He painted fascia the first couple days, and then scraped, sanded and prepped the windows. He got the rest of them nearly done today, and the talk around break time was that the biggest impact on the outside of the house was the change in the windows. People were so impressed with his work, and so excited that it made such a noticeable difference.

Bret and I spent the day stripping paint off of the old fireplace mantle. It's a part of the original house, and even though there's no fireplace anymore, Steve wants it ready to use as a decor item, maybe a TV stand or something. It's older than old, and has 349 coats of paint on it I think. We've been using chemicals and elbow grease to get down to the wood. I think we'll be able to finish that tomorrow before we call it quits for the week. At least we'll be close.

Talking to the boss man, Jerry, we're going to get to the end of what we can do at the house this week, meaning that there will need to be inspections and other considerations before any other work can be done for Steve. That is good news. We were told to expect to not 'finish' any projects we were on, so if we didn't get done with it, we would still have to walk away and be okay with that. The part that feels good is that we'll walk away knowing we took this project as far as the circumstances would allow.

I spent about an hour listening to Steve's stories of survival in his life: serious blood disease, amputations, struggles of many kinds, and that was all before the hurricane. After, it's been one hurdle after another. He's powered through bureaucratic red tape, been up and down the halls of power, called out the press to get issues spotlighted, and then been ripped off by contractors and held up by slow moving government. About the only bright spots in the whole story have been finding Spot, his dog (actually, Spot found him, but that's a different story...), and having the mission teams come in to help him. Literally, there would be no work done on the house if it weren't for the teams of Christians coming in to provide free labor. What kind of difference can we make when we reach out and help in Jesus' name? Lots and lots.

Spent some time shopping for souvenirs, didn't find what I really wanted, but there's one thing I want more than a magnet or a t-shirt -- to come back and help some more. This place needs what only Christ-followers can give: some grace, some love, some Jesus.

Please pray for us to finish all the projects we can before we finish up tomorrow, and that we can leave a lasting imprint on Steve for Jesus' sake. Also, pray for the Indiana folk to have a safe trip home, they're going part way tomorrow. Pray for the random lessons I've been learning to come together. I think I'm hearing good stuff today. And as always, thanks for praying!!

New Orleans - Day 3

This was the hardest day so far. Gene has been working on refinishing some windows on the house, up on scaffolding, scraping, sanding and priming them. They face the street, so they make a dramatic change in the look of the house - from old, nasty looking to clean and fresh. Watching him work with a power sander 12 feet in the air is amazing.

Brett spent the first half of the day digging and then filling in a hole. Turns out that the sewer line WAS connected already, no need to dig. Sometimes you have to dig a hole in order to find out that you didn't have to dig it. He worked on a couple projects, one was scraping and sanding the mantle of the fireplace. It's definitely older than any of us working on the project, and he's being very careful.

I got the job of the day - the one no one wanted. :)

There's an access ladder to the attic in the hallway, one of those folding staircases. The door and the molding around it are both very old, and were wet enough in the flood to have gotten a bad case of mildew. The mildew was dead, but it needed to be scraped and sanded, prepped for a fresh coat of paint (possibly the first new coat in decades?), which meant holding a power sander over my head for about 5 hours. We tried to use a rotary, smaller hand sander, but they wouldn't work, so the big boy went up the ladder with me a bunch of times. As everyone walked by, they would either comment, encourage or joke with me about either the good job I was doing, or how no one else wanted to do it. It made me determined to get it finished.

By 5 pm, the sun is going down, and the lighting isn't good enough in the house to keep working, so we're usually cleaning up and getting ready to leave by then. At 5:15, I was priming the trim work around the door with Kilz to prevent future mildew. Kind of a good feeling to have a project start and know you're going to finish. And I'll always know that this one part of the mission house was my own personal project.

I'm hearing more of Steve the home owner's story each day. He's a survivor in so many ways. He's had to fight government and local officials, and even got on the front cover of the local paper over one of the battles just to get his house back in livable shape. But he's gone from telling people not to pray for him to saying, "knock yourself out" when I asked if I could pray for him.

Please pray for Steve, his health and the ability to stay focused and work through all the details that face him on his journey to get back in his house. Also, pray that Jesus gets to be more and more real to him.

Pray for us, we are all dog tired, and completely wiped out at the end of today. I'm going to be sore tomorrow, and so will Bret and Gene. Pray for the strength to finish the week strong and get lots of projects accomplished so that Steve gets in soon. Also, pray for us to keep shining Jesus around the Big Easy. We keep getting opportunities to talk to people about why we're here, and they are always so touched to know people are coming to help. More on that later, but thanks for praying, all of you.

New Orleans - Day 2

Today, the work started in earnest.

All the projects that we lined out yesterday got a full day of work, including finishing hanging the door, digging a hole to hook up the sewer line, starting to put a hand rail on the access ramp (did I mention it was GINORMOUS!?!), a lot of sanding and finishing up drywall work, a couple more lights getting wired in, and the first coats of primer for painting. The 21 people working all at once looked at times like a hive of bees swarming the house.

Steve, the homeowner, was blown away by all the work getting done. He's had a few crews out, but none have gotten as much done in a week as we've been able to do in the first two days. He's touched by all the effort on his behalf, and he loves telling everyone he meets at the store about the crew he has at his house.

He told me twice that he had a "preacher question" for me. He was unchurched until crews started helping at his house a few months ago, but now he's in church every week. I started getting nervous, wondering what question he wanted to ask me but hadn't asked his pastor. I prayed for wisdom, that God would give me the right words, and that he'd be open to my answers... all the stuff you pray when you are scared of what someone might ask you.

We got a few minutes to talk, and he gave me his question: "When you look out on your congregation during the sermon, and you see someone nodding off, or completely asleep, does it make you mad?" I laughed, and told him my standard line: "I'd rather have you sleeping in church than awake at home!" Now Steve laughed.

He said he nods off in church, not because his pastor is boring, but because he feels so comfortable and safe there, he can relax. I looked at him, sitting on his scooter in the backyard of his house while 20 other people were cleaning up at the end of the work day, and said, "With all that you've been through and all the stress in your life, if you can find a safe place like that at church, that's a great thing." Tears started in my eyes, but Steve was just beaming. This guy has been through so much, fighting insurance companies, the government, thieves, the city, all to just have a place to live. He's glad we're here, but I'm amazed that he's here. God is doing a work.

Big props to Bret, who spent most of the day digging out the sewer line. He was 5 feet down a hole, digging in the blackest, wettest, stickiest mud you've ever seen. Everyone checked on him, and everyone was encouraging him every shovel full. Gene was the hero yesterday, high up on ladders, and Bret was today, down in a hole. Pocatello has it covered down here, whatever you need! :) I did get to use a table saw and a nail gun today with no serious injuries.

Pray for good sleep, for the weather to stay dry for the painting tomorrow, for the work on the handrail to go smoothly, and for us to get the sewer line done in a day so we can hook up and get the plumbing ready for Steve to move in.

New Orleans - Day 1

We got up at 6:30 and got breakfast, had devotions and loaded up to go to the house where we'll be working all week. We met Steve the owner, a double amputee who had his house flooded twice during the hurricane and aftermath. The house itself is now 8 feet up on concrete pilings, but he is still living in a FEMA trailer on the front lawn with his dog, Spot (seriously, that's the dog's name!), after three years of fighting to get his place livable again. It's been in the family for three generations, and he's hoping to live in the home his grandfather built.

There's plenty to do - drywall repair, mudding and taping, sanding, hanging a door, wiring some lights and switches, painting and prepping for hanging gutters outside, putting rails on the GINORMOUS ramp in the back yard... there's a ton of things needing done, all with the goal of getting Steve out of the trailer and into his house by the end of the week.

Gene took on the painting (a pro with ladders and scaffolding, he was up and down all day), Bret grabbed a gun (nail, of course) and finished off the railings on the ramp, and I framed in a door, helped wire in a light, and moved scaffolding all around the place. We all finished the day physically tired but spiritually charged. Talking to Steve, it's obvious that he's touched by all the help he's getting. He's just started attending church after a few mission teams started helping him with the house. God is at work in his life, right along with all of ours.

Getting to know the team from Indiana has been fun, they all have a wonderful sense of humor, and enjoy laughing their way through the work day. There are several seasoned home improvement veterans, and a couple of real-life contractors, so the work is going fast and well. I'm being asked to use power tools, and they are threatening to have me use a nail gun. Stay tuned and keep praying!!

There's a lot of work to do, and a lot of ministry along the way. I'm still keeping my eyes open for some God moments here on the front lines; that's where they always happen.

You can pray for a few things for us: a good night's sleep, safety and wisdom as we work, the ability to get everything done in a timely manner so we can get Steve in the house by the end of the week, and that we shine Jesus to Steve, the neighbors, the people we meet at lunch and around town, and to each other. Pray for us to see what God brought us here to see.

More tomorrow.

Feet On The Ground In New Orleans

We made it!! Gene, Bret and I are safe on the ground in New Orleans, and getting settled in. Met the folks from Calvary Baptist Church (they even gave us t-shirts!!), and had a great dinner, now just making friends and getting ready for tomorrow's work.

In driving around tonight, it seems like some things have not changed at all since Beth and I were here on our honeymoon 17 years ago, but then, you turn a corner and see devastation - boarded up businesses, homes still in ruin, streets in disrepair - and you remember that it's been three plus years since Hurricane Katrina almost wiped this place off the map.

I can't wait to see it all in the daylight, and to get to the house where we're going to be working. The early word is that we're going to be repairing a home for a double amputee, including a new porch, ramp, some gutters, paint, drywall, and probably more. Hoping for some demolition, since that's my strong suit, but I'm just happy we get to help.

You can help by praying for us, specifically for the three of us to connect well with the Indiana team, for the work to come together tomorrow, and for safety and effectiveness. I'll try to get a few extra posts in this week to keep all y'all up to date. Yep, been in the south for less than a day, already picking up the language... :)

Glad We Did That

Prayer Labs were last night, and despite cold temps and wind (what happened to fall?), we had nearly 40 people participate in the prayer times at locations around the city. It's a risk to ask people to pray in a public place, and I wasn't sure if anyone would show up, but thank you to all who did! Our prayer time at Highland High was good, even if we punctuated each request with a sniffle.

When we got back, I felt like we needed to share what, if anything, God might have said to us while we were praying. I was really glad I asked, because there were several important messages people received about prayer. Praying for the government more often, praying on location more regularly, just lots of encouraging messages about prayer.

Praying for the Church in the Portneuf Valley and for FBC in particular was also very good, a reminder that we are not alone in our mission here, and that we need to pray for the other churches and their effectiveness right along with ours.

Lastly, praying for the team going to New Orleans was a blessing. I know there is an adventure waiting for us down there, and I'm glad there are people praying, both now and during the trip, for our success in ministry and our safe return.

I'm glad we took the time to pray. It's important that we do it, and important that we do it together as a church family. Again, thanks to all who participated, and if you missed it, we'll do it again sometime.

See y'all when I get back from New Orleans!!

PRAYER LABS TONIGHT!!!

Don't forget that we're meeting around the city to pray at 6:00 tonight, then gathering back at FBC for prayer together at 6:45.

The meet sights are:

• Alameda Center
• Highland High School
• Irving Middle School
• ISU SUB - Canoe Room
• School District Offices
• Indian Hills Elementary School
• Pine Ridge Mall - Inside in front of Party Palace

Hope to see you there!!

Trying To Tie Up Loose Ends

So things have been a little complicated around here lately, and I'm feeling like I need to communicate a little harder, so here are a few issues I want to make sure everyone is up on:

• Prayer Labs are THIS THURSDAY NIGHT!! We are meeting at locations all over town for a time of prayer, then meeting back a the worship center to pray together for our valley, and to pray for our team going to New Orleans next week.
• The meeting locations for the Prayer Labs are - Highland High School, Irving Middle School, the Alameda Center, The School District Offices, Indian Hills Elementary School, The ISU SUB (meet at the Canoe Room), and the Pine Ridge Mall (meet inside in front of Party Palace). We'll gather at 6:00 pm for prayer, then head to the church at 6:45.
• Yes, the New Orleans trip is a go. Smaller crowd than we had planned, but still a gung ho group of Christ followers going down to help people in need. The word is we're going to be helping build a ramp for someone in a wheel chair and other such stuff. Sounds like fun!
• The 40 Days of Prayer series is going well. People are responding, and the questions and conversations are about deep stuff in people's lives. I can't wait to see what God does the rest of the way with this. Keep praying for God's will to be done, and for us as a church family to do it!
• Just got done planning the Christmas series, it should be amazing! "Thoughtful Gifts" will focus on the three gifts of the Magi and what they meant at the time, and what they mean today. You are going to want to bring friends to hear this series!!

Just trying to keep the lines of communication open!!

What A Pastor Learns From Coaching Football - Part 2

I started this idea last month, and the crazy has kept me from finishing, so here's the next installment. For those who don' t know, I finished my four year commitment to coaching youth football for my son's team. From Mac's fifth grade year until this his eighth grade year, I've coached the defense and special teams. It was quite an adventure, with some huge ups and downs. Along the way, as in everything in my life, I try to keep track of the lessons God tries to teach me. Let me share another:

• You can lead a linebacker to the running back, but you can't make him tackle.

Coaching defense is about two things - putting players in position to succeed, and teaching them what to do when they get there. I spent hours on the field running them through drills on how to tackle, how to defend a pass, how to rush the passer, how to defeat blocks, etc... all the concepts they needed to know to be successful when the play unfolded in the game. And I developed schemes and game plans that would allow for our players to play in positions and situations that would give them the greatest chance to succeed.

Those things I could do as a coach, I did. But in the heat of the moment in the game, I could do nothing to make a player use what he knew. I could encourage or instruct them to line up in the right place, but I couldn't make them do it. If they didn't want to tackle, they would not tackle.

More than once in the last four seasons, a player was in perfect position to make a game changing tackle, and pulled up rather than put the other man on the ground. It was painful for me as a coach to see them get in position to succeed, knowing they had the knowledge and the skill to succeed, and watch them chose not to succeed.

As a pastor, it's very similar. I can use all the gifts God has given me, I can teach and instruct, challenge and encourage, model and envision what God has said to do and how to do it. But at the end of the day, I cannot make anyone serve. I cannot make anyone pray. I cannot make anyone give, or stop gossiping, or give their heart to Jesus. I have no power to control people, no matter what anyone thinks. I've watched friends in pastoral ministry pull out their hair over people who have all the knowledge they need to be successful in their life and walk and service for Jesus, and then watch helplessly as they make choices to shipwreck their lives, their walk, and their church.

Sometimes pastors (and I'm guilty of this) and coaches (me again!) will take these moments personally. And yes, there are times when as a coach and as a pastor, I didn't prepare my people for the challenge they found themselves facing. At those moments, I have to own my part, and work my tail off to be better prepared to prepare those under my care. But sometimes, the information, the knowledge and experience are there, on board the person in position to 'make a play' in their life, and they pull up short instead of stepping up. At that moment, I can encourage, I can remind, I can recast the vision, but I can't make them do what they already know is right. It's not possible. I can't handcuff them to the chair to keep them from getting drunk, I can't tape their mouth shut to keep them from saying something damaging to their spouse. I can't hack into their bank account and preset their giving to God's work. None of that is possible.

As a pastor, that's painful to admit. I am powerless against the forces of choice in the lives of people in my care. If everyone decided to stay home this Sunday, I'd be in a worship service by myself.

But here's where I have a choice to make myself: as a coach, I don't get to play, so my choices for myself don't make it to the field. But as a pastor, I'm still able to make choices for my own life that end up on the 'field' of ministry. I can give. I can show up for worship. I can serve. I can bring my gifts to ministry. I can invite people to come experience Jesus. I can make my choices.

Pastors - YOU HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE, EVEN IF YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE!! If no one else worships, you choose to worship. If no one else gives, you give. You don't have to make up for everyone else's giving, but you do have a choice to give. You can serve, so do it. If no one joins you, you will still be honoring your commitment to God and to His larger team, the Church, even if people in your church are choosing poorly. PASTOR - YOU CANNOT BLAME YOUR CHOICES ON YOUR PEOPLE!!

Those of you who are not pastors - YOU CANNOT BLAME YOUR PASTOR FOR YOUR CHOICES. Even if your pastor is not perfect, you cannot put your spiritual choices on hold because you don't like what they are saying/doing/thinking. If your pastor is in sin, point it out to him/her. If they are leading in a direction you don't like, talk to them about it, but remember that God puts leaders in our lives to challenge us as well as comfort and teach us. But your responsibility to the Body of Christ, His Bride, HIS CHURCH does not end because you have a problem with a pastor. You are charged to do your part, so do it. Serve, not because your pastor says, but because Jesus said. Give, not because your pastor needs you to, but because God commands it. Worship, not because you like the music or the message, but because worship is a choice you make in your heart and it honors God.

The Bible teaches personal responsibility. I need to fulfill my role and my part of the Body. Each of us does. And I have a choice whether I will or not. All of us does.

I'm trying to do my part with all my heart. What are you trying to do?

Listening To Andy

I have a number of pastor types that I respect and listen to, and one was speaking to me so loudly today, I have to share.

I'm trying to get myself back in the habit of working out after taking time off to get a bum knee back in line. So today, I was out for a walk with my IPod and Andy Stanley in my ears. Andy has a fantastically effective church in the North Atlanta suburbs, and he's a leadership and ministry guru. His podcast was about leading in uncertain times. Pretty easy to see why I was interested...

So Andy is talking, and he said a couple things I wanted to share with the staff, so I played it for them today in staff meeting. Times are uncertain at FBC, with the finances being down, the flu taking people out of weekend services and serving opportunities, and some general unrest and dis-ease. So the message was clearly for us, and the points got home: be clear about the vision, and be flexible with the plans.

Clarity will help people to make sure that we stay on track in spite of the changing atmosphere, circumstances, economy, culture, etc... Clarity of purpose, clarity of mission, clarity of values, and the clear communication of how those all connect to what's going on and what's next. Coming back to the places where God has been clear with us, and celebrating each and every memory of God's faithfulness and call helps us to stay focused on the right things, and to not panic when a plan fails, but stay true to the ultimate vision of God's preferred future.

The flexibility part was also very helpful. Plans will fail, and if we get ourselves tied to our plans, then we'll think the vision has failed just because the plans did. Plans fail for a number of reasons, and smart leaders have to pay attention to the changes in the atmosphere and surroundings that are not what was assumed when the plan was put together. We planned to be growing and adding staff by now, but the circumstances changed, so we need to get off the old plan and start a new one.

So there was a lot of excitement here today as we started to think about the core of the vision and how it has remained constant, but also how some of the pieces have moved in the last 10 years. The conversation began (and will continue over the next few weeks) about recasting and reconnecting the vision God has for this church with what is the current reality. Plans will change, they always do. We can't own the plans, they have to remain flexible, but we have to own the vision and be stubborn (Andy's word) about holding tightly to the ultimate outcome.

Good stuff to remember as God is busy shaping, forming, breaking, molding, pushing and teaching all of us in this season.

Any thoughts?

Quick Hits

Some things in the air:

• The Lions (3-3) finished their season on a sour note, losing their final game to Blackfoot 37-18. Mac played with a serious cold, having run a fever the two days before, and still had 12 tackles and two passes defended. He was a trooper. Proud dad moment.
• That said, football is over at the McCready house (except for some watching, of course), and just as the schedule starts to slow down, Rachel starts basketball practice TONIGHT!!
• Good feedback from the first message in the 40 Days Of Prayer series. People needed to know or be reminded that God is a loving Father and Friend, so we can be real and relational when we pray. Hope that it will change people's prayers to remember that.
• I stuck my head in on the Student Ministries Leader meeting - THERE WERE 12 PEOPLE THERE!!! God is up to something big in our church when there are a dozen people who want to be a part of changing the lives of teens. LOVE IT!!
  
• Stayed home with a sick girl Monday and Tuesday - Rae was running a fever, so no school for her. She's better today, and fired up for her first practice tonight.
• Had an amazing staff meeting today. I love this staff! They are dedicated to Jesus Christ, to this church family, to each other and to the work that God has called them to accomplish.
  
• Because giving is not keeping up with our expenses, there are going to be some hard things happen in the life of our church family. Please pray for people's hearts to be moved toward giving, and that the blockage about finances in this church would be removed.
• There will be a direct discussion of the finances this Sunday before the message. I hope it will be heard, and I hope it will not take away people's attention from the message on prayer.
  
• Sunday's message will be life changing for someone, perhaps you. My world is being rocked by the thought of praying to a holy, holy, holy God. GOD IS BIGGER THAN MY PROBLEMS, AND HE'S BIGGER THAN YOUR PROBLEMS, TOO!!
• Getting the final details nailed down for the New Orleans trip. Looks like 5 of us going, and I can't wait! Wish I was there now...
  

Stay tuned for more on any and all of the above, but I wanted to get you caught up.