Getting Excited...

Much to be excited about these days, I just need to share:

• LifePoint Church got to celebrate 13 baptisms this past weekend, including three from one family that just started coming in the past few months. So honored to share these milestones with everyone! And Pastor Jeremy got to do three of them, so bonus!!
• Week two of the Restructure series had more people in attendance than week one, which has me fired up! Folks didn't run away from hearing God's wisdom on finances, they came back and brought friends!!
• Speaking of finances, more people buzzing about the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class, can't wait to see what happens when some of THAT wisdom drops on people.
• Children's ministry is bursting at the seams! If you are a family with kids and you attend the 10:45 service, and you can AT ALL jump to 9 am or Saturday night, it would help a bunch if you would, we are getting too full in our kids ministry at that hour.
• Read that last one again... WHAT A GREAT PROBLEM TO HAVE!!!!
• Hearing buzz about fresh ministry for Senior Adults... stay tuned!!!
• Pastor Mark is telling me we've got 46 small groups in our system, plus a few more that are not yet in the system - look at what God is doing there!!
• Tuesday Nights started up again, and over 80 people were there for worship, groups, classes and recovery. Pastor Roy was fired up, and word is, more folks are coming!
• Cool stuff getting planned for the run up to Easter this spring... you won't want to miss this, trust me!
• Birthday weekend is coming February 19-20, celebrating the 13th birthday of LifePoint, and our founding pastor, Dr. John Jackson is coming back to teach that weekend!! Don't miss it!

And there's more yet to come, because God is stirring things up around here. So thanks again to all who are praying for LifePoint, serving as volunteers, and giving to see God's Kingdom move ahead in this area. It's WORKING!! Keep GOING!!!

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!

Message Delivered

The first one is in the books, and I'm pretty tired, but really excited about this first weekend preaching at LifePoint as the Lead Pastor. Lots of great feedback, and I was really glad to hear that lots and lots of folks signed up to help with the Easter Services. I'm always pumped up to hear that folks heard God's word and stepped out to do what it says.

I'm excited for what's coming, and I'm pretty fired up for the weeks we have leading up to Easter. Keep praying, because it's going to take more that just what we have to bring to the table to see the big move of God that's going to come. God has big plans, and we need to step into them with prayer and faith, open hearts and open hands.

Remember: invite cards are for giving to people that you invite to Easter services! :) Come to one, serve at another. It's the best way to celebrate the Ressurection Day!!

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... :)

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?

Exciting Developments!!

Last night Karl and I had a great meeting with Coop and Penny Cooper, our coordinators for the Financial Peace University classes. They were excited about a Dave Ramsey Simulcast coming up in September, and we spent an hour looking at the details to see if we could host the event at FBC. Looking at this event, it will require some faith, yet it's very doable, so we said we were going to say a 'prayerful yes.' It would be a live webcast of Dave doing his Total Money Makeover, and it gives us as a church the opportunity to introduce more people in our community to all things Dave Ramsey, including the FPU class. Pray with us, there's an upfront cost, and we would be required to sell tickets, but I'm jacked about the potential of this becoming reality. Could you imagine our Worship Center full of people being set free from financial bondage on a Saturday in September? Pray early, pray often, and let us know if you'd be interested in being a part of this opportunity!

After that exciting conversation, talk turned to New Orleans. Penny and Coop went in March and worked with some friends from Indiana on a mission project. The folks in Indiana have invited us to go along when they send a team this fall, probably the last week of October (maybe the first week of November?). I've been praying for the chance to go, and now, it's becoming a reality. If you're interested in going, we want to send a team. We'll get the details out as soon as we have them, but save some vacation time (a week), some money (about $900-1000), and pray a bunch. I'm going, and I'd love for you to come on this adventure with me, or maybe help someone else to go if you can't make it yourself. The need is still great after Hurricane Katrina, and we'd be helping share the light of Jesus, one act of service at a time.

I love hearing people bubble up vision and watching as it starts to take shape in God's hands!! These are two of the pieces of what God wants next in the life of FBC, and I'm glad for leaders like Penny and Coop who see what's not there yet, then pray and work until it starts to happen.

Why are these people smiling?

This is my family, and they are smiling because they were serving Jesus at the July 4th parade. I'm the guy in the glasses. I tried to stay out of the way... NO! I helped direct traffic at the park and handed out water to those folks that came to us.

Beth sang on the float with our praise team. She brings her gifts whenever she can in music, and loves to lead people into worship.

Mac handed out water bottles in the Old Town area at the beginning of the parade rout. He told me later that he saw 20 of the people he invited out to Caldwell Park actually show up for the free hot dogs and to hear the band play some more.

Rachel (she's the one with all the paint) sat and painted faces from 9 am until almost noon. She carefully put fireworks and smiles on the faces of children all morning. Look at her concentrate!




So, why were we there? Two reasons: first, we love Jesus, and we love Pocatello, so we wanted to serve Jesus by serving Pocatello. Second, we as a family hold serving God as a high value. We want to bring our gifts to the table whenever we can. We don't believe in watching as the move of God goes by, we believe in pitching in and being a part of what God is doing.

I am SO PROUD OF MY FAMILY!! But here's the best part: they were four of well over 100 people who showed up as a part of the First Baptist Family!!!! We gave out close to 3000 bottles of water, several hundred hot dogs, more Popsicles than I can count, and multiple thousands of smiles. One of those smiles, I'm pretty sure, was on the face of Jesus.

Doing What You Love

I love to laugh. I love to make people laugh. I like the sound of laughter, and I think that Heaven is going to sound a lot like a comedy club at full roar. I may be on thin theological ice, but I'm pretty sure that the angels laugh a lot, and Jesus has had to laugh at some of the stupid things I've done in life. Laughter is good for the body (it exercises your insides) and your soul ("A cheerful heart is good medicine," Prov. 17:22).

So when I get to make people laugh, I feel good. That's part of why I use humor on Sundays in my messages, because it's a part of me and who God made me to be. If I was a better story teller, I'd do that. If I was great at writing poetry that connected to people, I'd do that. I'm not either of those things; God made me funny. The fact that it helps people to relax and to pay attention when I'm talking about the challenging and difficult issues of faith in Christ is a bonus. I'm just trying to be true to how I was made so that I can bring glory to God. Not everyone likes a funny pastor. For some folks, like slugs and rock salt, the two just don't go together. I get that. I'm not everyone's cup of mocha.

But here's the great part: when God gives you something that you're good at, and something that can bring glory to Him, He's also going to give you opportunities to use it. Count on that. For years, we've done a Comedy Night reach out event at our church, but because of financial constraints, we couldn't do it this year. That bummed me out, because I think it's a good way to show the community that we Christians have a sense of humor (Okay, some of us do...).

But God has given me other outlets for the 'gift of comedy' He's given me. Two weeks ago, I was asked to do a stand up set at a church in Oak Harbor, WA. It was a great time, the church was fantastically fun (Clint Webb, you rock!), and Beth and I had a great time. One lady who was there was dealing with stage 4 brain cancer, and a friend of hers told me afterward that she and her husband hadn't laughed that hard in a long, long time. God used my humor to bless those precious people while they were dealing with the darkest time of their lives. Praise God.

I was just asked to do some stand up at the annual National Cancer Survivor's Day celebration here in Pocatello. I'll share details later, but I'm jacked up about it. I can't wait to make people laugh, and bring glory to God for His healing work in my life over the past 5 years. Please pray for me about this, I want it to go well. Thank you to all who are praying for me right now, it's been a tough season, and the prayers are making a difference. Keep it up!! And if you're a survivor in town that day, make plans to be there!

God Stories on a Friday Night In Jersey

Feeling the wave of what God is doing? Coming out of Easter, here's what I'm feeling:

• Live to serve - The response to the message last Sunday was amazing!! We had a mob people sign up to help with the project house, someone offered help with carpet, and in the best possible way I can say it, folks got it - following Jesus means serving! I'm so proud of this church!
• Taking it (to the Big)Easy - a number of folks also stepped up to either be a part of the team that is going to New Orleans in the fall, or help someone else get there. I can't wait to see what God is going to do through us, but I'm really excited for what God is going to do TO us when this trip finally happens. (And thanks for accepting my apology for waiting so long to get this moving. I love how you let your pastor be a human being sometimes!)
• Giving and giving - the food pantry is still a hot spot in our ministry, lots of bags of food moving through there to help other people. I got to hand out some bags myself this past week, and it's so amazing to see the looks on people's faces when you hand them some groceries in Jesus' name. In a down economy, we as a church have more opportunities to step up and serve people generously, rather than step back in fear. Thank you for your heart to help people in our valley for Christ's sake.
• Hope in the house - On Thursday night, we had over 70 people out to hear the Dave Ramsey simulcast, Town Hall for Hope. Dave was amazing, as always, and the whole event was a constant stream of God stuff. From lifechurch.tv and Fox News hooking up with Dave, to how the technology worked so well (mic glitches aside), to how many of the folks in our worship center were guests (the FBC folk were happily outnumbered 3 to 1!!)
• Giving what I've got - I'm writing this from New Jersey, where I'm helping another church to find God's plan for their ministry life together. It's so much fun for me to sit with a group of church leaders and tell YOUR stories, YOUR triumphs, and YOUR lessons to people and help them see that God is wanting to do great things in their church, because He's been doing them in OURS. And by OUR church, I mean HIS church.
• Bonus coverage - On the way home, I get to stop off and see Quentin and Patty Mullinix, former FBC'ers who are pastoring a church outside Chicago while Q finishes seminary. I'll get to hear him preach, then meet with their leadership to talk about maybe helping them in the future. I can't wait to see those guys - two missionaries we as a church have sent to the wilds of Illinois.
  

What am I missing? You got a God story for me? Let me hear from you!!

Wrapping Up madatchurch.com - Part 3

Last one for this topic (unless someone writes me with more that makes me want to share). There are always consequences to our actions. Some are intended, some are unintended. Here's some of both:

• Intended: We wanted people to bring friends who had a problem with church so that they could hear that we knew we weren't perfect, and we were trying to chase after God even in our imperfection. That really worked for some folks. One woman spoke to me after the message about rules vs relationships and said she was so glad to have the CD to give to her husband. He had been part of a very rules-heavy church, and every time they found a new church, there would be some weird, unexplainable rules come up and he'd bail. She was fired up to have him hear that there were rules that mattered, but that mad made rules weren't as important as loving God and loving others. Easter Sunday, I saw here with her husband in church, both smiling and glad to be there. A great beginning!!
  
• Intended: we learned a ton about using media to share Christ! The website went up and stayed up, no glitches, but some of the things we wanted to try, like posting comments to the madatchurch.com site, we found were just too advanced for us. Maybe next time. The billboards worked, but where they were in town wasn't as visible as we'd hoped they'd be, so it limited our exposure. Turns out that when you only want a billboard for a month, they are harder to get than if you want them for 4 months or even 6. But the connection from the billboard to the site to the fbcpoky.com site to the staff blogs all increased traffic, so people looked, they clicked, they learned, and some of them came. Yeah God!
• Intended: there was buzz! I had several conversations with people about the talk in their offices about the signs. The Chubbuck City offices were all abuzz when the first sign went up just down the street from them. A couple of folks from FBC work there, and they heard people talking all about it from day one. I also got a call from a leader in another church here in town that overheard a conversation between two coworkers at his office. He interjected that they site wasn't bashing anyone, and invited them to check it out for themselves. He and his pastor were both very excited about our attempt to get the message of Jesus out to the culture, and he wanted to tell me that it had connected in his office.
• Unintended: Inside issues. There were people inside our church family who were upset by the series. I was somewhat surprised by the anger it generated in some of our people. I have tried to say we're not perfect as a church, and we're not always going to get it right, but even with that, folks were upset that we would talk about rules vs. relationships, etc, knowing that we have messed that up in our life together as a church. In a way, I was glad that it stirred up some folks, because some were willing to talk through their issues and disappointments, and for some, the messages could begin some healing from hurts they've had in our own church, not just somewhere else. All in all, while aimed at helping the outside world come closer to Jesus, I'm glad to say that it helped some people in our FBC family get closer to Him and to each other, too.
  
• Unintended: God smack. I wasn't really prepared for the way God was going to smack me in this series. Don't get me wrong - every time a pastor steps up to preach, God has been at work in their life and stirring them in whatever area the message is about (unless of course they are so cut off from the Holy Spirit that they are just on autopilot, which can and does happen), and I was expecting some of that. But what I got was more. I was really pushed around about my lack of faith in God's ability to draw people to Himself through our church. I kept seeing the reason we put rules up, the reason we get our agenda in God's way, the reason we are so excited to talk about end times things instead of now times things, the reason we get so obsessive about issues is that we don't always trust God to make change in people's lives. I realized that I was thinking way too often that God was waiting for me to DO SOMETHING rather than waiting for me to let HIM do something. It was a constant God-smack for the two months leading up to the series, and the four weeks of the series, and now some of the fall out is being seen in our church in cool ways. More on that later, but God is still working on me after this series.
  

If you've got more stories to share about madatchurch.com, let me know. God did some amazing things, and I'm glad for all the wins along the way. Even if there were some tough lessons to learn, it was all worth it in the end, so PRAISE GOD and keep rolling!

Wrapping Up madatchurch.com - Part 1

The day after Easter is always slow mentally. There isn't much left over after four services, even when I'm talking about the most exciting topic in history. But there are many people who have been following the madatchurch.com series, both here in Poky and around the country, so I'm going to do a few posts as we look at what God has done thru this effort. Some of the early pieces we are processing:

• 335 - the number of hits on the website. We didn't get exactly the highest traffic, most visible billboards in town, but we had a bunch of traffic on the madatchurch.com website during the time they were up. Traffic was also up on the fbcpoky.com site and the staff blogs, so people were using the web to connect to our church family. It goes to show that our culture is using technology to find answers, and even to check out churches. We as a church need to continue to find ways to use technology to the advantage of God's kingdom.
• 20-25 - the number of people who indicated they became Christ followers. In the four weeks of this series, we had the greatest response to the gospel of anything we've ever done as a church. When Aaron brought the message week two, 17 people raised their hands to acknowledge they were giving their lives to Jesus! There were 5 people who marked on their communication cards the past two Sundays. The reason we're a little vague with the numbers here is that we can only follow up on the people who tell us who they are, so we don't know if some of the people who raised their hands also checked the box the next week, or if there were more people but they didn't check the box... We're working on whatever the barriers are that keeps us from being able to follow up effectively with folks, but the big take away is this: there was a move of God in the past four weeks that has touched lives and made an eternal difference!
• Beginning or end? - We're praying and thinking about what works better: starting a series on Easter or ending a series on Easter. Over the years we've done it both ways, and it's hard to tell if there's an advantage either way. The next series we're doing is about following Jesus, and flows naturally out of both the madatchurch.com and Easter, so we're praying for people to get on board with what it means to follow the risen Christ.
• Sacrificing for others - There were several folks who gave up their usual seats on Sunday morning to come either Saturday night or to the 9 am service Sunday to make room for others. For some, that's a big sacrifice, for others a small step, but for anyone who did that, thank you! We had the largest attendance of the four services, the largest 11 service we've had in years, and three of those folks in that service gave their life to Christ! Your sacrifice in moving paid off, and I want you to know that. Thank you for loving God and loving people enough to move to another time slot.
• Taking it Personally - I met so many people who were introduced to me as guests by the person who brought them. As much as we want billboards and invitation cards to bring people to meet Jesus at Easter, it's always, ALWAYS going to be the personal invite that brings them in the door. Thank you THANK YOU to each person who brought someone to hear the good news of the resurrection this weekend. When you risk enough to ask, God smiles.

More later as we continue to process this. If you've got stories of how this series impacted you or someone you know, email me and let me know. And pray for this next series, Follow Jesus, I think it's going to push our church family toward the next step of challenge we need to hear. I'm being challenged by it already, and it's only Monday!!