Quote of the Day

"In giving advice, seek to help, not please, your friend." -- Solon

One of the Best 5 Minutes of My Day

Saw this early this morning and it was one of the best 5 minute blocks of my day.

Check it out: http://vimeo.com/2535351. Trust me it's worth it.

Quote of the Day

"A great deal more failure is the result of an excess of caution than of bold experimentation with new ideas. The frontiers of the kingdom of God were never advanced by men and women of caution." -- J. Oswald Sanders

Matthew 11:12 "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it."

Today's Big Plans

More HR. Making all the Group Ex instructors as official Bob's Gym employees sure does add to my workload. It'll be great for the gym though.

Also today, lunch with Jeremy to begin thinking about music for the worship services in January ("Chasing the Lion").

Irony (Definition of)

Sitting on the couch eating pizza from Papa John's while watching "The Biggest Loser" finale. That's my life.

The Reason for...

This past weekend, Perry Noble laid down a line that shook me. Here's what he said:

"Jesus is not the reason for the season;

He's the reason for life!"

Wow... Nothing new, but if it became a part of your life it would change everything.

Quote of the Day

"If you want to build a ship, don't summon people to buy wood, prepare tools, distribute jobs, and organize the work, rather teach people the yearning for the wide, boundless ocean." -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Housing Update

As you probably have heard once or twice, Kitten and I (and the girls) are in the midst of rehabbing a house. Another productive weekend and we might be done. Here's what's left that we need to do:

• Master Bedroom: get carpeting down, paint closet doors, replace door & hardware
• Dining Room: last coat of paint in closet, replace electrical outlets, replace light switches
• Kitchen: install microwave, install cabinet above microwave
• Laundry Room: rebuild closet, paint ceiling
• Living Room: paint ceiling; replace ceiling fan; replace electrical outlets; prime walls; paint walls; replace window
• Study/Spare Bedroom: another coat on flooring; prime walls; paint walls; replace electrical outlets
• Alyssa's Bedroom: another coat on flooring; prime walls; paint walls; replace electrical outlets; paint doors; rehang doors; replace ceiling fan
• Morgan's Bedroom: paint trim; replace ceiling fan
• Bathroom: replace electrical outlet; rehang mirror; replace light

So...do you want to help with any of this?

Being Amazing

Had a great conversation with Billy Chia last night. As we were talking, we were discussing the value of sometimes doing less. I loved some of the stuff that came from that discussion. It came at the perfect time as we discuss a change in our ministry structure at Discovery.

At Discovery, we're going to stop doing a high school/middle school ministry. Why? For several smaller reasons and one big reason. The big reason is simply this. What we're doing now is not amazing. Bob Franquiz, my church-planting coach, dropped this nugget from his church in our last session: "It doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to be amazing." As I evaluated our HS/MS ministry, we were falling short and did not have the resources or energy to get there yet. Someday in the future, we'll re-launch that part of our ministry and it will be amazing.

With all this perculating in my mind, like a fine cup of Pike's Place Roast, I stumbled across a neat article comparing a simpler model for church to Outback Steakhouse. Anything that has to do with Outback can't be all bad.

What's your thoughts? Anything in your life that needs to be eliminated?

Today's Big Plans....

Today shall be officially called "HR Day" for me. Bob's Gym is making some structural changes in the new year that have had a significant impact on my work today. Lots of new employee info to get into our system. Also, we have a new employee starting out on the Westside (Bestside) today.

By the way, Bob's new website went live yesterday. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Christmas Classics

Today we continued our "Christmas Classics" series at Discovery. We watched a clip from "Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas." We talked about what Christmas is not about and what it is about. Here's the brief synopsis:

Christmas is not about gifts; it is about generosity.

Christmas is not about parties; it is about community.

Christmas is not about the "big guy;" it is about the "little guy."

What is about (or not about) for you and yours?

Fred Thompson on Economy

When I was in college, I worked for Sen. Fred Thompson's (R-TN) office. I just wish that he had wanted to run for President while he was running for President.

Great & Unexpected Acts

"If I were in your shoes, I’d go straight to God,I’d throw myself on the mercy of God. After all, he’s famous for great and unexpected acts;there’s no end to his surprises. He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth,sends water to irrigate the fields. He raises up the down-and-out,gives firm footing to those sinking in grief." (Job 5:8-11, MSG)

I love it when God does His "great and unexpected acts" in front of me. Some of the surprises I have witnessed in the past year include:

• the launch and growth of Discovery Church
• financing for Discovery Church
• a co-worker having a life-changing experience
• my girls' beautiful smiles lighting up rooms
• providing a house for us in the particular sub-division we wanted to live in
• providing an awesome job that helps pay the bills while Discovery grows

What about you? Where do you see God showing up and showing off?

Quote of the Day

“Fix the problem, not the blame.” -- Japanese proverb

Experiencing Grace

We spent the month of November talking about money issues at Discovery. This was a big concern for me because we created Discovery for those who do not like church. One of my assumptions (accurate or not) is that people who do not like church think that the church is all about money (an assumption that the televangelists of the 80s certainly did not help us with). A series on the issue so early in our church's history seemed like it would just feed this thought.

We spent a week talking about tithing as a beginning point (for more great discussion on this issue, see Vince Antonucci's recent blog posts). We spent a week talking about contentment and another about debt. I challenged our community to do Dave Ramsey's second baby step and identify their debt with the smallest balances. The next week we would collect the totals of our community and get a pulse for how huge the problem was. The answer was shocking: over $130,000.

The last week of the series we discussed thankfulness. We asked people to put the information about their smallest balanced debt on slips of paper found in "the world's smallest church programs" (our bulletins). We spoke about grace, how God meets you when you do not expect it. I then announced that we were giving away our offering that morning, 20% to church planting and missions and the rest would be given to four individuals. We were able to pay off the debt of two individuals and pay $400 on two other bills. I believe that this experience is one of the defining moments in the first few months of Discovery Church. Such an awesome experience.

What are you doing to allow people to experience grace?

I Never...

Back when I was in college, I remember watching people play a drinking game called "I Never." They would proudly confess to something that they had never done and those who had were forced to take a shot. This game served two purposes: (1) it allowed you to get completely hammered; (2) it made it okay to confess truly humiliating stuff.

As I was reading in the Bible tonight, I came across what must have been a really tough "I Never" for Amos. In Amos 7, the prophet is called out by the priest of Israel for speaking out against the king. Amos simply tells the priest that he never wanted to be a preacher, being a prophet wasn't on his top 10 things to do. He was just fine being the cattleman, raising steaks instead of raising the stake.

He then boldly calls out the leadership for the sinfulness and their waywardness. Wow.

Here's my thoughts: (1) Are my ambitions always pure? Am I constantly seeking what God wants most rather than my own desires? (2) Would I have the cajones to call out a king? a leader? Would I be willing to follow God in saying "Your wife will become a whore in town"? What in my life needs to change for me to have that complete and utter trust in Him and His Word?

Life After Porn

"Knee deep in boxes at 217 Brackendale Lane, I heard the front door open. The jiggle of the doorknob was a familiar sound, for I knew the entrance of my husband was soon to follow. Inching my way through a small pathway in between many boxes, I looked up and saw the face of the man I married nine years ago. Chris walked toward me and asked if we could “talk”. The look on his face said enough - something was wrong.

"After getting our oldest son, Noah, settled with a Blue’s Clues video, Chris motioned me toward the newly-purchased sofa that had arrived just twenty-four hours before as we began our new life in a new town.

"He began by confessing that he had numerous affairs with numerous women from numerous places. My heart began to palpitate while I listened to him. I heard the cracking of my heart as he spoke and felt the devastation setting in almost immediately. As if that information was not enough to handle, he also informed me that one of the women was pregnant, and he was pretty sure the baby was his child."

Read the rest of Cindy Beall's story here.

Going Bi...Vocational (Part Four)

There are definitely drawbacks to being bi-vocational. However, there are also marked advantages. This week, we'll direct our attention to a few of those.

One huge advantage to doing ministry bi-vocationally is decreasing the burden of the church. The Apostle Paul did this over and over again. As he was planting churches, he would make tents. The tent-making would allow him to serve without demands.

As we were beginning our adventure with Discovery Church, I was challenged by the staffing of Muncie Alliance to consider the benefits of being bi-vocational. The staff at MAC has chosen to be bi-vocational so that the resources of the church might go further and enable more ministry to occur. My role at Bob's has allowed me to support my family and be less of a burden for Discovery.

Sunday Night Dump

Here's some quick thoughts that are still streaming through my worn-out head:

• Had two people serving at Discovery for the first time this morning. So cool. Rodney & Theresa did an awesome job with the Starbucks and donuts.
• The worship team sounded so good this morning.
• The tech. demons showed up. Media Shout died on us just as the service began. Let's just say the new rule is: "Save. Save. Save" and we're not just talking about spiritual issues anymore.
• Jack is doing a great job with "Talk to Jack."
• Excited about my Florida Gators football team. They're looking really good.
• Loved it that a family skipped a baptism so that they could come back to Discovery after visiting last week. Hopefully we haven't made the holidays awkward.
• Definitely challenged about how we're spending Thanksgiving.
• Talking about money is never easy, but I think it is healthy for me and the church.
• Got a stinkin' busy week ahead. Three open houses and a Presbytery meeting. Definitely going to need some strength and rest.
• Congratulations Kevin & Emily. When I showed Chloe's pic this morning, the collective response was "Awww."

Going Bi...Vocational (part three)

Over the next few days, we'll be discussing the pros and cons to bi-vocational ministry.

The natural outflow of the struggle with time is a struggle for family moments. My family is God's most precious gift to me (aside from salvation of course). I love letting my girls use me as a jungle-gym. I like spending time with my wife. I enjoy our family time together.

It has been said that when you say yes to one thing, you must say no to another. It is a shame that when we say yes to bi-vocational ministry that one area that can easily be overlooked is our family. One of the highlights of my week is when the girls stop by the gym to spend time with me. It makes me happy to see Alyssa sitting on a stool behind the counter "working" by coloring. Awesome! I appreciate those moments, because I do not get enough of them.

For me, I've tried to find ways to get those special moments with the girls. I might stop by the house on my way back from one of the other clubs. After working late one night a couple of weeks ago, I slept in a bit and dropped Alyssa off at school, just so we could have some time together in the morning.

What are you doing to make special time for your family?