...to everyday life

How Can I Know the Gospel of Christ is True?

Here's a recent post from John Piper's Blog on "9 Ways to Know the Gospel of Christ Is True." Good supplement to this last weekend's message.

(Author: John Piper)

1. Jesus Christ, as he is presented to us in the New Testament, and as he stands forth from all its writings, is too single and too great to have been invented so uniformly by all these writers.

The force of Jesus Christ unleashed these writings; the writings did not create the force. Jesus is far bigger and more compelling than any of his witnesses. His reality stands behind these writings as a great, global event stands behind a thousand newscasters. Something stupendous unleashed these diverse witnesses to tell these stunning and varied, yet unified, stories of Jesus Christ.

2. Nobody has ever explained the empty tomb of Jesus in the hostile environment of Jerusalem where the enemies of Jesus would have given anything to produce the corpse, but could not.

The earliest attempts to cover the scandal of resurrection were manifestly contradictory to all human experience—disciples do not steal a body (Matthew 28:13) and then sacrifice their lives to preach a glorious gospel of grace on the basis of the deception. Modern theories that Jesus didn't die but swooned, and then awoke in the tomb and moved the stone and tricked his skeptical disciples into believing he was risen as the Lord of the universe don't persuade.

3. Cynical opponents of Christianity abounded where claims were made that many eyewitnesses were available to consult concerning the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

"After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:6). Such claims would be exposed as immediate falsehood if they could. But we know of no exposure. Eyewitnesses of the risen Lord abounded when the crucial claims were being made.

4. The early church was an indomitable force of faith and love and sacrifice on the basis of the reality of Jesus Christ.

The character of this church, and the nature of the gospel of grace and forgiveness, and the undaunted courage of men and women—even unto death—do not fit the hypothesis of mass hysteria. They simply were not like that. Something utterly real and magnificent had happened in the world and they were close enough to know it, and be assured of it, and be gripped by its power. That something was Jesus Christ, as all of them testified, even as they died singing.

5. The prophesies of the Old Testament find stunning fulfillment in the history of Jesus Christ.

The witness to these fulfillments are too many, too diverse, too subtle and too interwoven into the history of the New Testament church and its many writings to be fabricated by some great conspiracy. Down to the details, Jesus Christ fulfilled dozens of Old Testament prophecies that vindicate his truth.

6. The witnesses to Jesus Christ who wrote the New Testament gospels and letters are not gullible or deceitful or demented.

This is manifest from the writings themselves. The books bear the marks of intelligence and clear-headedness and maturity and a moral vision that is compelling. They win our trust as witnesses, especially when all taken together with one great unifying, but distinctively told, message about Jesus Christ.

7. The worldview that emerges from the writings of the New Testament makes more sense out of more reality than any other worldview.

It not only fits the human heart, but also the cosmos and history and God as he reveals himself in nature and conscience. Some may come to this conclusion after much reflection, others may arrive at this conviction by a pre-reflective, intuitive sense of the deep suitability of Christ and his message to the world that they know.

8. When one sees Christ as he is portrayed truly in the gospel, there shines forth a spiritual light that is a self-authenticating.

This is "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:6), and it is as immediately perceived by the Spirit-awakened heart as light is perceived by the open eye. The eye does not argue that there is light. It sees light.

9. When we see and believe the glory of God in the gospel, the Holy Spirit is given to us so that the love of God might be "poured out in our hearts" (Romans 5:5).

This experience of the love of God known in the heart through the gospel of Him who died for us while we were yet ungodly assures us that the hope awakened by all the evidences we have seen will not disappoint us.

Woodbury Bulletin Article on Five Oaks Orphanage Project

Check the online article for pictures, video, more information and quotes here. Here are some of the highlights:

Building their future brick by brick

The people of Five Oaks Community Church put on their hard hats and built an orphanage for a group of orphans in Fedja, a small town in Haiti. The ribbon cutting for the new building was last month.

By: Amber Kispert, Woodbury Bulletin

The people of Five Oaks Community Church put on their hard hats and built an orphanage for a group of orphans in Fedja, a small town in Haiti.

The ribbon cutting for the new building was last month.

“When you go down there and you see these kids — you can’t help but feel for them,” said Five Oaks’ outreach director Jerry Meras. “Seeing the building up is great, but it still comes back to kids — you want nothing more than to go down and help.”

A total of 58 orphans have moved into the new building that is complete with individual bunk beds, showers, a kitchen and a school.

“Now, these kids are happy, they’re smiling and they’re joyful,” said Five Oaks pastor Henry Williams. “It’s very gratifying to see that — it’s overwhelming in many ways.”

A five-year project

The Five Oaks Haiti project began in 2005 when a small group of church members traveled to Haiti for a mission trip and were floored by the poor conditions that children were living in. Thirty orphans were living in an old sheep barn with dirt floors, steel walls and not enough beds for everyone.

“That was the first experience that people had actually seeing the children in conditions no beast or child should ever have to live in,” said Jan Mularoni, a project volunteer. “When people see the need they have a passion to want to help — you’re motivated by love for people.”

The passion to help in this project spread throughout the church, and the community... “Without people giving that way, we would not be able to do it,” Mularoni said. “Seeing the need and knowing that this work had to be done in order for these kids to be safe really inspired people.”

Working together

Since the project was initially started back in 2005, more than 120 volunteers...

No volunteer was as dedicated and hard working as volunteer coordinator Mike Mularoni who took up the lead for this project, Five Oaks pastor Williams said. Mularoni is a licensed architect and contractor.

“This project wouldn’t have happened without someone on this end really keeping things going like Mike did — it’s his life,” Williams said. “He’s constantly pulling people in and giving them a vision for it."

...“I have never experienced anything like this before,” Meras said. “If you ever want to feel good about your life, go to Haiti for a while and you’ll see how blessed you are — I could never had spent my time any better, anything else is shallow.”

For more information about the Haiti project or to donate contact Five Oaks Church at (651) 459-7485 or Mike Mularoni at Mike@gvcm.com.

The online article includes the ribbon-cutting video.

Desiring God Free Download

Get a free download of Desiring God by John Piper, a modern classic, at ChristianAudio.com.

Five Oaks in Pioneer Press

Here's an article from Friday's edition of the Pioneer Press.

Woodbury church celebrates Haitian outreach

Pioneer Press (Updated: 10/29/2009 11:45:53 PM CDT)

A Woodbury church last weekend celebrated the grand opening of an orphanage and school in Haiti — which the church helped pay for.

Five Oaks Community Church raised $160,000 to help build All God's Children Orphanage and School in Fedja, which is in southern Haiti.

A total of about $1 million was raised for the project, including money and in-kind contributions from a national church group and the United Nations.

Since 2005, about 120 members of Five Oaks church have flown to Haiti at their own expense to work on the building, according to Deb Carr, an administrative assistant at the church.

The orphanage houses 52 children, infants through teenagers. It has bedrooms, a kitchen, toilets and showers.

It replaced a dirt-floor shack, Carr said. "They really had nothing."

In the same building is a school, now attended by 200 children from the orphanage and neighboring areas.

— Bob Shaw

First-time Guest Comments

Here are the comments we got back from the cards we send to first-time attenders.

Woodbury

• Thank you for the welcome gift!
• The first time we attended Five Oaks, 1 yr. ago, the message was great however the worship felt like Vegas karaoke (sorry)! Last weekend was our second visit, great message again and …worship has DRASTICALLY IMPROVED…we are looking here as a church home!

101% in Small Groups!!!

That's the small group involvement at the Hudson campus! 101% of our average worship attendance in September (not including Labor Day weekend!) in small groups. Yes, we double checked that number.

86% is the number for both campuses combined! Eighteen months ago we were in the low 60's. Kudos to all of our leaders and to Keith Miraldi, Director of Small Groups. Great work getting people connected.

Book Review: Emerge - Equipping College Leaders to Continue a Life of Vision and Purpose

I've been waiting a while for this book to come out. My oldest son, Henry Michael, has been participating in a program at his church called Lead Team which is run by the book's author, Ken Jibben. It's a program aimed at mentoring college upperclassmen who have a leadership track record, to help them transition into life and church leadership after college. I've watched the impact it's had on my son and been impressed with the vision and structure of this ministry.

The book lays out the foundational vision and strategy for this kind of ministry that can be multiplied in other churches and, I believe, adapted to other situations beyond college students. At the core of Ken's approach are mentoring relationships and helping students seek emotional wellness. But I also saw how reading leadership books and the practical help my son got on budgeting and other topics had an impact on him. Students meet with their mentors every other week, participate in four overnight retreats during their year in training and read three books on leadership. Ken's list of things they don't try to do is very helpful (e.g., they don't do ministry together since these students are already leading in campus ministries or churches).

I'd like to see Ken start a blog or web site dedicated to spreading this vision and helping others who are trying to establish this kind of ministry in their churches. I came away wanting more practical direction on the content and approach to the mentoring and the retreats. A web presence would be a great way to share his experience along the way. 

Powerful (short) Video of Orphanage Ribbon Cutting

Here's the video we showed last weekend. Go get some tissue before you hit play.

"Off the Hook" Services Past Weekend

Here is most of the written feedback on this weekend's services. Got a lot verbally too that was very similar. I'd been looking forward to this for weeks, so it was very exciting to see it come together.

• ...I could FEEL God at work in the sanctuary and it was somewhat overwhelming (in a very good way). ...In my opinion it allowed people to reflect at their own pace and the opportunity to really breakthrough in personal decisions or recommitments. Awesome!
• As an usher for the 11am service, I was standing at the door collecting the offering. I overheard one gentleman say: "I think we found our new church." Awesome service!!
• Visiting as a worship leader from a “megachurch” in CA. It’s so awesome to see the pure love this church community has for God. ...By the way, worship was off the hook!
• Haven't had an "experience" like that in a long time.. maybe never... it was amazing! Convicting! I was exhausted after the service. Incredible!
• Thanks for doing communion late in the service. What an incredible and meaningful time of communion. 
• Thank you for the wonderful worship, message, and stations! 
• God is working here!
• I enjoyed today’s communion. It really helped me take a new look at my worship. 
• Thank you...for the stations. It was very powerful for me. 
• That was worship. 
• Thank you for a powerful ending to worship. God’s Spirit was present in a BIG way. 
• Thanks Henry and all for leading us in worship. For allowing for and teaching of the many ways to worship our Lord.
• Thank you for a deeply meaningful communion service. 
• I absolutely loved today’s worship service. I hope we’ll incorporate the stations again. It was so awesome to have the other options of worship. There was a freedom present that I hadn’t experienced at a church before. Maybe on Communion Sundays?
• Awesome time of worship! Thank you! 
• Between the images of the Haitian orphanage and the powerful message on worship, all I can say is WOW! That was quite a service....Thank you!!
• Loved this weekend's service! We should do that at least once a month. Very powerful!
• All of the stations at todays service is a good idea. Suggest keep doing that.
• I was very blessed by the service this weekend. I loved the way all of the stations were set up. It was amazing to see so many come for prayer because that is a need that we all have at times.

Making Room for God

Not sure what to say about this weekend's services except we made more room for God to work and boy did he work. It was so great to have Yves there and the opportunity to pray for GVCM and celebrate the orphanage opening. I'll post the video on Tuesday. But also the response time and worship after the message was simply incredible. Lots of lives touched in prayer and worship. Love to hear your stories and reflections.

Ribbon Cutting and School Day at the Orphanage

200 plus kids go to school at the orphanage and 52 kids live there. Amazing.

Haiti Silent Auction and Banquet this Friday

Our missionary partner in Haiti, GVCM, is putting on a silent auction and banquet this Friday at the airport Embassy Suites. Last week we cut the ribbon for the first phase of the orphanage and the kids moved in. It was awesome and I was fortunate and blessed to be there. If you would like to go to the banquet, let me know (you can email or comment and it will get to me). It's free, but they'd love for you to participate in the auction or in some other form of giving.

Here's a video that captures the history of the All God's Children Orphanage project. Great footage of all the miracles that have taken place to make this happen.

First-time Guest Comments

Here are the latest comments we received on the post-cards we send to first-time guests:

Woodbury

• You have a wonderful church!
• Perhaps because you are a big church we did not feel as if anyone realized we were new.  We are used to smaller community churches.  Being new to this state, we are searching for a church to call home.  We hope it will eventually be Five Oaks.
• You guys are doing a great job!  We’ll be back again in the near future for a second visit!

Free Audio Book Download

You can down load Gary Haugen's book, Just Courage, by going to christianaudio. They give a free download every month. Haugen spoke at the '08 Leadership Summit and heads up the International Justice Mission. Here's a description of the book and some of endorsements.

International Justice Mission president Haugen has found that "the pathway out of a nearly comatose state of boredom, ineffectiveness and triviality lies in the struggle for justice." This book describes how to break out of a ho-hum Christian life and see God's powerful and mysterious ways at work.

"Gary Haugen explores what it means to really care about those who suffer--and it isn't necessarily the path we might expect. We tend to think of soup kitchens and painting buildings as ways to express our compassion for those in need, but Gary makes a convincing argument that fighting for justice on behalf of the poor is a powerful, effective way to make a long-term difference in their lives. Don't miss this book!" -- Kay Warren, executive director, HIV/AIDS Initiative, Saddleback Church

"I dare you to read Gary Haugen without growing a bigger vision of God. He is a prophet in our day calling us to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God." -- John Ortberg, pastor, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, and author of When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box

"Just Courage is a life-changing book. Gary Haugen's echo of God's call to a life of significance and adventure is irresistible. He places the fight for justice right where the Bible does: square in the middle of Christian discipleship. Every follower of Jesus should read this book and take action on behalf of a world that 'waits, groaning' for us to bring hope, love and rescue." -- Lynne and Bill Hybels, Willow Creek Community Church

Do We Have Enough Information?

The REVEAL survey results (both for our church and for all churches) have been humbling for many a pastor, including me. I just read a post from one of my favorite pastor bloggers that repeats a fallacy I had bought into and REVEAL debunks. It goes something like this: "We don't need information, we need transformation." Or like this: "We already have enough information. We need to start applying it." Another variation: "We are educated beyond our ability to be obedient." 

Here's what REVEAL shows:

• Newer or more immature believers need more information than they are getting. Bible doctrine (basic foundational teachings of the Bible on topics like grace and the Trinity) is the most significant catalysts for spiritual growth for newer or more immature believers. The "we" in the statements above assumes way too much. Our churches (including Five Oaks) are filled with people who lack basic foundational doctrines and biblical knowledge.
• Spiritual guidance and challenge from the Bible is a primary need for spiritual growth and vitality across the spectrum of spiritual maturity. And not just in the form of more application of what people already know. More biblical knowledge is essential. 

REVEAL does, however, confirm what I believe is the intent of those of us who have been promoting this fallacy for years: Serving others and spending yourself for Christ is an even bigger spiritual catalyst for the more mature believer. This is, of course, a case of both/and. The most mature need both more Bible knowledge and more devotion to service. I've seen too many information bloated, Dead Sea Christians (lots pouring in and no outlet leading to no plant life). But it seems they are a minority. It seems I'm surrounded by a lot more information starved, wasteland believers in the church than I would have imagined. 

Chances are that if you've read this to the end you're likely on the mature side of the spiritual growth spectrum. So, are you spending yourself for Christ, serving him with your spiritual gifts in the church and with compassionate kingdom living outside of the church? And are you helping mentor and teach younger believers the great truths of the Bible and encouraging them to feed themselves every day on God's Word?

Five Oaks Church 10th Anniversary Video

Here's the video we produced for the 10th Anniversary celebration ten years ago. I saw this at that celebration for the first time (no preview) and was supposed to say something afterward, but I couldn't. Way too choked up.

Five Oaks Church 20th Anniversary Video

Five Oaks Church 20th Anniversary Drama

This drama was written by Marcie Berglund for our celebration.

First-time Guest Comments

Here are the latest comments from the cards we send first-time guest:

Woodbury

• Loved it!
• I felt very welcomed and I loved the message of Christ! I will come again!
• Felt people were pushing to join groups. Wife didn’t (get) a good feeling for.

Deterring Sin, Accelerating Faith

Good post by Mark Batterson on Bible reflection and application.

Sin Deterrent and Faith Accelerent
I know of no greater sin deterrent and faith accelerent than simply reading the Bible on a daily basis. There is no substitute. There is no shortcut.

Of course, it takes more than reading. The Bible wasn't just meant to be read. It was meant to be meditated. Reading without meditating is like eating without digesting. We don't absorb all the nutrients. May God give us a ravenous appetite for His word.

Reading results in one-dimensional knowledge.
Meditating results in two-dimensional revelation.
Obedience results in three-dimensional faith.

Read it. Meditate on it. Live it out.

Missions Strategy

Several of our P.E.A.C.E. Partnership Coordinators and some others who are interested in missions attended a seminar at Five Oaks on Saturday facilitated by EFCA Connect entitled, "Developing a
Missions Strategy That Fits Your Church" and lead by Brian Cole and Five Oaks' Craig McClun.

I attended a small portion (Saturdays are crazy for me) and it was great content, discussion and presentation. Thanks, Jerry, for making this happen.

Developing Your "It Would Take a Miracle" Prayer List

If you are one of the 303 people who have committed to pray for up to ten and invite one to our "It Would Take a Miracle" series in December, here's some help in developing your prayer list. I'll be sending this out later once we are able get our email contact list together (some time next week), but this will give you a head start.

Simply download this file (Download My Network of Influence). This download will help you think through the people in your life. It will be a great place to start in developing your list of up to ten people.

We're also developing a prayer card you can keep in your Bible or tape to your mirror at home as a reminder to pray. We might even have it ready by the weekend. 

If you would like to be counted in this tribe of 300 plus, let me know. And be looking for your emails to start coming next week.

See you this weekend at our 20th Anniversary Celebration services.

20

That's the birthday we're celebrating for Five Oaks this weekend. Five Oaks was started as a church plant from Hope Evangelical Free Church (Oakdale, MN) in 1989. We'll do some looking back and some looking forward this weekend. You won't want to miss the...

• Retrospective Video
• Original Frank Capraesque Drama written by Marcie Berglund
• Vision Message
• Group Pictures
• Food and Beverages for the whole family after the services
• More of my home videos...Just kidding!

See you this weekend.

296

Failure! I asked for 300 and got 296 at this weekend's services. Okay, I'm TOTALLY kidding about the failure thing. This blows me away. We will reach 300 and beyond and I can't wait to see what God's going to do. If you missed this weekend, you can watch it at fiveoakschurch.org at the Media tab or download it through iTunes. I hope you do watch it if you missed it. VIM (Very Important Message).

Confession time. I've got messages prepared all the way through the October 17/18 weekend and I've written in the continuing recruitment of people to join this tribe of 300, assuming we probably won't have reached it yet. I said it would take a miracle and we're about to see one that will lead to many more. Thank you to all who are taking the risk. It will be worth it.

First-time Guest Comments

Here are the latest comments we got from the cards that we send to first-time guests:

Woodbury

• I definitely will be back. It was a very comfortable atmosphere, and I could really feel the love of Christ. Thanks again, and I will see you again soon.

Hudson

• Because of the theatre location, the “church” is dark. More time is needed to get a sense of family and connections would be hard to make. The music is loud! So…too dark and too loud.
• I prayed a lot about what I would say about the worship. I could give opinion, but I don’t want it to be about me. Really, when I prayed I felt like God was saying passion. I think that sums it all up, just passion. I wouldn’t care if it was a cappella and they were off key. But passion and the Holy Spirit would make it life changing. (P.S. I love the messages every Sunday!)
• I love E-Free churches. The teaching was excellent, the people were kind and welcoming. Here is a bit of feedback. I had a hard time with the location. It was dark – a difficult switch – in how I envision a worship service to feel and look. Also – the worship team did a wonderful time – but I had a hard time with how loud the music was. This is probably the one reason I would have a hard time connecting at the church. I think that there are many others out there who would probably enjoy the “un-churchy” atmosphere and louder music though. God bless Five Oaks!!

Everybody's Talking About Civility

The Pioneer Press has a front-page article today noting recent outbursts from Representative Joe Wilson, Serena Williams and Kanye West. Chuck Colson weighs in on it in his BreakPoint commentary. Below are highlights of his commentary. I'll just add here that this is crucial for our witness to the world. We are missionaries in our world first and foremost. That has profound implications that believers seem to forget in the quest for more short-term gains. In addition, to our outreach, the lack of civility is taking a toll on believers as well, especially Christian leaders. Pastor Gordon MacDonald (who is one of the church's elder statesmen) has commented that a spirit of meanness had taken hold in the church and he doesn't see it subsiding any time soon.

Here are the highlights from Colson.

Restoring Civility
Take the Pledge
September 16, 2009

It will probably go down in history as the first presidential speech remembered not for what the President said, but for how a member of his audience responded.

Even if you didn’t watch Barack Obama’s health care address last week, I’m sure you’ve heard what happened. Obama had just finished saying that his health care plan would not cover illegal aliens. In response, Rep. Joe Wilson shouted out, “You lie!” shocking television audiences from coast to coast, not to mention the President.

Talking heads have spent the rest of the week talking about the need for civility in public discourse—and that’s a good thing. Two people who are likely paying close attention to this debate are men who are about as far apart politically as it’s possible to get. Mark DeMoss is the conservative president of the DeMoss Group. Lanny Davis is a former advisor to Bill and Hillary Clinton.

DeMoss and Davis—both concerned about the sharp decline in civility—have created an online forum called The Civility Project. Its goal: getting Americans to re-learn how to disagree without being so nasty to one another. They are inviting Americans of every political stripe to take a civility pledge, in which they commit to three things: “I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior. I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them. I will stand against incivility when I see it.”

Three cheers for them! Too many Americans think that it’s OK to simply shout down their opponents, malign their motives, or, when all else fails, make vicious personal attacks. I lived through this in Watergate, being spit upon by angry mobs.

...civility is a precondition for democratic dialogue. And civility is mandatory for Christians; Jesus told us to love our enemies, which would exclude us from making vicious verbal attacks against them.

I can’t excuse Rep. Wilson’s outburst. But I do understand his frustration. For months, President Obama himself has been repeatedly accusing his opponents of lying about his health care plan—just as he did in his speech before Congress. Even liberal CNN says Obama’s regular use of the word “lie” is “unstatesmanlike.”

...I am sure that Rep. Wilson, if he could re-live that moment, would not shout out at the President again. And, in a show of real civility, Wilson apologized to Obama, and the President accepted his apology. I commend them both.

It’s a positive step—albeit a small one—to restore civility to our national discourse.

Can You Read Karen?

Marner Saw, one of the Karen leaders present at the Backpack weekend where we handed out about 180 backpacks, also is a journalist for a Karen website that is read by internet-linked Karen throughout the world.  He wrote an article about Five Oaks helping the Karen and the backpack drive. Check it out here.

Planning: Ins and Outs, Ups and Downs

I've been working on a presentation for the Board tonight regarding our future: capital improvements, staffing, funding, etc. Stuff that didn't make it into our strategic ministry plan (I'll be sharing our top three goals from that plan for this year in my message on the last weekend of September).

Here are some reminders and insights from the process:

• I'm way too impatient. I want to move yesterday on everything. I don't want to pray about it. I don't want to trust God that he can move in big ways without our help, our money or our plans. But the fact that God doesn't just plop the money down and give me a list of his priorities is a gift. It makes me fall on my knees and depend more on him.
• Putting it down on "paper" and out of my head (1) is the catalyst to recognizing and calling out my impatience, prayerlessness and lack of faith, (2) makes it obvious that everything can't be done at once and (3) gets the ball rolling in the right direction leading to prayer and discernment.

So, what kinds of things am I thinking about and will I be presenting on tonight?

• We're currently working with a company on sound, video and lighting challenges we're facing at both campuses. Getting down to what really needs to be done and how to pay for it will be challenging.
• I'm deeply concerned (even troubled) about several building issues including (1) the impossibility of reading our Radio Drive sign when driving by (new signs are extremely expensive and the size is highly restricted by the city); (2) the broken concrete by the front doors; and (3) the first impression of the half driveway as you enter (no, we didn't build it like that...it use to be a full one in phase one and we couldn't afford to eliminate it in phase 2 or 3 without sacrificing other priorities).
• We've been understaffed for a couple of years and it's hard to plan additional staff in this economy and without more growth (we grew 3% in the ministry year that just ended). I have too many direct reports since we did not rehire an executive pastor, but streamlining that in a way that makes sense and doesn't put current staff over the edge is much harder than you might think. 

So those are some of the issues the Governing Board will look at tonight. Any thoughts?

Your Child's Salvation

Are you treating your child's prayer for salvation and baptism like some parents in other traditions treat Confirmation?

Not being in a tradition that offers Confirmation, it baffles me why so many parents make such a big deal about their kids making it through Confirmation without equally making it a big deal that they make it through high school and college walking strong in their faith. It's easy to notice and criticize something that's not part of your own tradition. But how many parents in our tradition make a big deal about their kids praying to receive Christ and put a lot less emphasis on making sure they are cultivating and growing in that relationship all the way through school and college? Or making sure that the prayer was legit? I don't know, but it occurred to me how silly it must look to those outside of our tradition to put absolute trust in something that could easily be done out of peer pressure, desire to please their parents or just plain ignorance.

I received Christ when I was eight years old and I remember the time well. I'm confident that when I prayed to receive Christ, it was a prayer of genuine faith and I started a new relationship with Christ that day. I don't remember the exact moment I prayed, but the moment I do remember was the conversation I had the next day with an older, close friend of mine and telling him that I had accepted Christ and that I could no longer participate in some things we were doing that were wrong. It changed the nature of that relationship. So I'm a big believer in giving kids an opportunity early in life to receive Christ.

But let's not ever trust a prayer prayed out loud any more than a class completed in eighth or ninth grade when it comes to the faith and the eternal life our our kids. I'm not advocating praying repeatedly to receive Christ or living with a lack of assurance of salvation (or cultivating lack of assurance in our kids). But let's also remember that saving faith is evidenced in life or it's not saving faith. And as is even the case with adults, a "first-time decision" is sometimes a false start, for some it can be a first step in coming to faith and for many it's the real deal. (That's why I never refer to first-time decisions as anything more than as a "first-time decision.")

What I am saying is that when your child prays to receive Christ, most of the work of spiritual guidance is still ahead of you. And that work doesn't end at any grade level. In my mind the rule is that as long as you can require that they go to school, you require that they go to church (more importantly, youth group). Exceptions only prove this rule.

And while we're at this, there is one very clear exception: requiring church when you're not committed yourself to serving God and growing in your faith is a farce. In fact, do your kids a favor. If you're not walking with Christ, please DON'T require them to go to church. But it's never too late to repent, to start pursuing that relationship and to model faith for your kids.

The Importance of Campus Ministries (This is for anyone who has children of any age)

Many of you have heard me talk about this before, but I can't stress it enough. The key to a college student's spiritual walk in college is directly tied to their participation in a campus ministry like Campus Crusade, InterVarsity or Navigators or in a good church. In my experience with students, the campus ministry is the "gateway" to a good church in college.

If your kids are in college, do all you can to get them involved. I know, it may be impossible to force it at this point if they don't do it on their own, but it might be worth nagging about, calling a vibrant ministry on campus and asking them to target your child, offering financial incentives or disincentives to your child...whatever is not sin and will work for YOUR child is worth trying.

If your child was involved in our student ministries, chances are they will seek it out for themselves, but they may need a nudge. One of ours knew how important it was, heard Tim and his parents (us) talk about it all the time and fully intended to join, but school was busy and starting new things is intimidating, so he put it off. With some nudging and nagging and praying and a phone call to the campus ministry, he got involved and is a leader in that ministry today.

The other side of all this is that after you've done your part and exhausted your options, you do have to let it go and hand it over to God. Keep praying, but stressing out about it won't help anyone.

But in my experience, parents let go on this way too soon. Sadly, some let it go as early as junior high. If you required your kids to go to school and to work and to get good grades but did not very strongly urge or "require" that they go to church or student ministries of some kind, repent now. Yes, there are exceptions to this, that's why I make it a habit not to judge any persons situation (I'm not walking in their shoes), but chances are you're not one of those exceptions. Repent now before it's too late to make a difference. As long as they are your dependent, it's never too late to start "requiring" that they also cultivate this value that far surpasses good grades, a great career and a good work ethic in importance.

First-time Guest Comments

Here are the latest comments from the cards we send first-time guests:

Woodbury

• I would like to receive info on your church doctrine and beliefs so I can continue my search for a fit to my needs. Thank you.
• I’m a children’s small group leader in another church. I like to go somewhere else I can be in a worship service without interruptions or responsibilities. I get to your church 8-15 times a year.

Hudson

• It was hard to meet people with the low lighting. Visual communication is important when meeting new people. However, I was greeted at the door as well as by the couple who sat next to me. It was a great first impression.
• I really liked my first visit. I think I’m coming back for more!!!

NIV Update Planned for 2011

Warning: The following post is somewhat technical. I'm not going to try to make it easy because that would just take too long and be too hard. ;-) So, if you're not familiar with Bible translations and translation theory, this might be confusing.

I'm so glad to hear that the NIV (New International Version) will get a new, comprehensive update in 2011. The TNIV (Today's New International Version) ran into a lot of problems being accepted primarily because many scholars and Christian leaders complained it went too far in gender inclusive language and political correctness. I'm not getting into that debate, but the controversy made it very difficult to adopt church-wide, even though it vastly improved in readability over the NIV. Whenever I've used it in detailed analysis (using the Greek, etc.), I've been impressed.

So I'm thinking that we might make the switch back to the NIV as "pew" Bible if this revision reads like the TNIV and avoids the controversy. The New Living Translation (NLT), the translation we use now, is solid and reads so well, but when I do detailed analysis I'm often frustrated with it.

A lot of churches have gone to the English Standard Version (ESV) because of it's pedigree and accuracy. I agree it is a great study Bible and should be in the arsenal of any serious Bible student. My problem with it is it takes the everyday language used in the Bible (for example, the New Testament is in the common Greek language of the day, not classical Greek) and turns it into something that sounds wooden and arcane. I tried to read through Philippians in one sitting in the ESV and just about choked. It was very uncomfortable. I don't think accuracy needs to trump fluidity of language. Again, I use it regularly and find it to be an invaluable resource, but as a Bible for reading large portions of Scripture or as our "pew" Bible, it just doesn't cut it in my opinion. And, in my estimation, it's not a large improvement over the NIV. It's a great replacement for those of you who prefer the New American Standard Bible, though.

Any questions or thoughts on this?

Your Story Can Encourage Others

Most people come to Christ because someone invites them to church or an event where they hear about and experience Christ's love and grace. Invitational outreach is a very effective way of reaching people far from God. There is power in a crowd and it's demonstrated time and again in the Bible.

Do you have a story of being invited or of inviting someone far from God to our church. A story that would encourage others. I would like to use it in some way in our next series (I could read your story and keep it anonymous, we could shoot a video faith story, etc.). Please let me know. It could make a huge difference in someone else's eternity.

Remarkable Begins in October

We launch a new series on Acts called "Remarkable" in October. Here's the desciption:

To be remarkable is to be worth noticing or commenting on. What does it take to be a remarkable church—a church worth noticing? The book of Acts chronicles the first thirty years of the church. Thirty years that changed the world and the course of human history. A church that was not perfect, yet it could be described as nothing less than remarkable. It was most definitely noticed—sometimes “enjoying the favor of all the people” and growing exponentially (Acts 2:47) and, at other times, experiencing great waves of persecution and murderous threats (Acts 8:1; 9:1)…yet still growing exponentially. This series looks at seven distinguishing characteristics of this remarkable church in Acts, seven marks that can make the church today worth noticing, a church that people can’t help calling remarkable. 

• Remarkable Power - Acts 1:1-11; 2:1-37
• Remarkable Conversion - Acts 2:36-41; 9:1-31
• Remarkable Devotion (Part 1) - Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37; 6:1-7; 8:26-35
• Remarkable Devotion (Part 2) - Acts 2:24; 16:22-25; 13:1-3
• Remarkable Outreach - Acts 3:1-4:4
• Remarkable Message - Acts 4:5-22
• Remarkable Influence - Acts 17:16-34
• Remarkable Boldness - Acts "29"
  

Open to Change

I was reading a post by Craig Groeschel about creating a culture of change in churches. This line stood out to me and got me thinking about my own spiritual life and walk with God:

...the reward? Being able to respond to God’s leading quickly and without hesitation.

I'm a creature of routine. One of the things I didn't like about my study break was the break from routine. (I know, I'm crazy.) Routines can be our friends and are needed in life. Routines help us establish important disciplines. But routines without an openness to change and without a culture of change in our hearts can also keep us from being open to God's leading and God's adventures.  

One of the results of my break is a change in some of my routines: I'm taking a different day off, I'm setting up different meeting times, I'm returning to some old routines from a couple of years ago. But I also want my heart to be open to God's leading in a more surrendered way. I believe I need to develop a culture of change in my heart so that I can hear God and respond to his leadings without hesitation. Not sure how to do that except to pray for it, to expect him to act and to respond to his initiatives.

Borrow The Hole In Our Gospel

Okay, no library for now, but you can borrow one of three copies we now have of The Hole in Our Gospel. It should be available this week at the Guest Services table at Woodbury and Hudson. Check it out, read it and return it. First come, first serve, no fines.

Here's what I wrote previously about the book and why I want people to read it.

Just finished The Hole in Our Gospel today, by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision. The subtitle is "What Does God Expect of Us? The Answer that Changed my Life and Might Just Change the World." How's that for mouthful.

The Willow Creek Association sent a copy to all WCA churches and Willow Creek handed out 10,000 copies one weekend after their church services. So it comes quite well recommended...and it did not disappoint. If I could recommend only one book to someone to help them get a biblical perspective on compassion ministry in the context of local and global missions (what the P.E.A.C.E. Plan is about), this would be the book.

It's a very personal story, Richard Stearns story (remarkable, inspiring and one that most of us can identify with), but it's also like a comprensive textbook. Maybe too textbookish at times, but worth it if you want to learn and go deeper than normal. Reading this book was like taking all I've learned on this topic my whole adult life (a subject I've devoted tons of time and interest) and pouring it into one book that's filled with great stories. It should be required reading for everyone in our P.E.A.C.E. ministry leadership and in our church leadership. I really can't recommend it enough.

Lois and I both listened it. We were  deeply moved and challenged. Some good conversations grew out of it, as well as some soul searching in both of us. I'd recommend listening if you struggle getting through long books. I downloaded it from Audible. Some of the stories he tells will undoubtedly be working their way into my messages over the coming weeks. Please read this book.

Food

I'm very excited about being back in the saddle this weekend. It's too bad it's a holiday weekend, but if you're around my message kicks off with a video we shot yesterday at the State Fair. Why? Well, I'm talking about food for two weeks! Yes, food. Food plays prominently in the parable of the two sons and in the whole Bible. Can you think of some of the food themes in the Bible? Send a comment.

Church Library?

Thanks to all of you who gave me feedback on the idea of lending out the book The Hole in Our Gospel. (If you don't recall the post, link here.) Quite a few people emailed, commented or Facebooked me about some kind of church library. I have to be honest with you, though--I'm not a fan of church libraries for several reasons including that they take up a room but are rarely used and the books in them are usually second-rate or badly damaged. They seem to quickly fall into disrepair and obscurity after the initial flurry of use. Maybe some of you have had a different experience and could convince me otherwise, but that's my honest opinion.

That doesn't mean we can't have one, though. The world doesn't revolve around my preferences, as much as I wish it did sometimes. :-)

So..........We can have a church "library" if...

• someone "owns" it as a ministry (no staff will be involved except to okay the plans)
• people are okay with it dying if the person who owns it quits doing it and doesn't get a replacement (again, no staff will come in to "save the program")
• it doesn't take up a room (it can take up some of our storage space, but we simply don't have a room available, even if we wanted to give one up for that purpose)
• it's not an eye-sore when it is in service (it has to fit our ambiance)
• there's a system for ensuring the books are worth lending out
• no one asks for money from the church budget to get this going or keep it going. In other words, it will need to be creative and (please don't take this wrongly) it won't be modeled after the library at your grandmother's church. :-) 

I think it can be done, but it would take a leader (not just a book lover).

Most of what I listed can be applied to other ministry ideas you might have. I want to see more of our people take this kind of initiative and innovation in ministry. But we can't and should not fund every idea for a whole bunch of reasons. I like the way David Browning puts it in Deliberate Simplicity. Their church staff and budget focus on three things only: Worship, Small Groups and Outreach. But their members have started a variety of other ministries. Browning writes:

While there are a limited number of programs that a Deliberately Simple church may initiate, there are an unlimited number of ministries that individuals may initiate. While corporate programs are discouraged, individual ministries are encouraged.

So, I think it would be pretty cool if someone started something I don't think is worth starting and proved me wrong. That's not only cool, it's healthy.

Sabbatical Over

My four-week study break is over. I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Some reflections on my time away:

• More than anything, having four weekends in a row was super refreshing. I've experienced that once in the last twelve years. For nine months of the year Lois and I don't have a full day off together, for the most part, unless I'm on vacation or it's a holiday, so that time was precious for us.
• I wanted to have as many as six and not less than four messages done by the end of sabbatical. I'll have five by the end of the week. Mission accomplished. It's very helpful to be ahead.
• Also needed to outline my next series, which can be a long and difficult process. Got that done on Friday. And it was a long and difficult process, but I'm very excited about it. More on that later.
• Lost eight pounds I wanted to lose.
• Even though my boys aren't home this summer, I probably spent more time with them this last month than all of last summer. While I was on vacation earlier in the summer, with time to reflect, I had determined I need to make it more of a priority because life's too short. It was a great time.
• I also feel spiritually refreshed and ready for this fall's adventures.

First Impressions Quarterly Report

In addition to the comments we receive on first impression cards we send to first-time guests, we also ask for a rating on three questions. Here's how we did in the third quarter of 2009 on all cards that were returned. The numbers in parenthesis are from the previous quarters.

Woodbury Campus Averages

• I felt welcome when I visited Five Oaks Church (on a 5-point scale, 5 = agree strongly): 3.95 (4.39; 4.57))
• I felt that my child(ren) was/were well taken care of during our visit: 5.0 (4.33; 4.67)
• How likely is it that you would recommend Five Oaks to a friend or colleague?  (On a scale of 0 = Not likely at all, 5 = Neutral, 10 = Extremely Likely): 8.25 (7.64; 8.48)

Hudson Campus Averages

• I felt welcome when I visited Five Oaks Church: 4.57 (3.8; 4.0)
• I felt that my child(ren) was/were well taken care of during our visit: 4.5 (5.0; 4.0)
• How likely is it that you would recommend Five Oaks to a friend or colleague? (On a scale of 0 = Not likely at all, 5 = Neutral, 10 = Extremely Likely): 7.86 (7.8 ; 7.62)

 

A Remarkable Greeter

I experienced a little deja vu this past weekend. Lois and I visited one of the campuses of The Chapel, a fou-campus multi-site church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. An older man, Alex, greeted us as we came in. He asked a simple question as we entered, "Are you new to The Chapel?" I told him we were visiting relatives close by and had heard about their church through my niece. He proceeded to give us the history of the place, a guided tour, introduced us to the campus pastor, and gave us every brochure they had. 

A few things stood out about Alex:

• He didn't fit the younger demographic of the church.
• He explained that he's the Megyver of the church. He can fix most things, and he knows technology since he started into computing in 1964. 
• He was a leader in the Lutheran church that was going under, and it's his signature on the deed they gave to The Chapel when they took over leadership four years ago.
• He knew we were new because he stands at that door for every service every weekend. 
• He was excited about his church!

Keith (our Hudson Campus Pastor) was talking to a group of leaders recently, and he said my wife's name came up several times. Seems a lot of people who came when we meeting at the school were deeply impacted by her warm welcome and were amazed when she remembered their name the second time they came. She's not that good with names, she was simply there every week and worked hard and intentionally at memorizing names. Seems Dan Berglund's name came up too. He was always at the door welcoming people, wearing an orange jump suit in the winter, making sure no one slipped on the ice.

Alex's campus is growing. They have three services in their 200 seat auditorium and have plans for expansion. I can tell you from our experience and the stories we heard all the time, our greeters have made a huge difference in our growth.

It's a different kind of experience at the Woodbury campus now because of our size, but a helpful (and not overly friendly) greeter still makes an important difference. A personal touch in a larger campus is noticed. We get those kind of comments on the cards from first-time guests all the time. And for Hudson, the impact can be even bigger. 

Can I put out a challenge, though? I think we could do even better if we had a few people who were there every week so that they could become more familiar with the faces and names of our first-time guests...people who saw this as a crucial ministry where they can make a significant impact. Yes, we need a lot of people who will work once per month on a rotation, but we only need a few that will be there every week. Are you one of those people?

First-time Guest Comments

Here are the latest comments we received from the cards we send first-time guests:

Hudson

• Loved the service – Very friendly and welcoming people. Wish we didn’t have to go to Woodbury for some kids programs.

Book Highlights: Focus

Focus: The Top Ten Things People Want and Need from You and Your Church is the third book based on REVEAL research. The gist of the book is to look at what people want from their church and what they actually need for spiritual growth and vitality. Then they do the same thing for what people want and need from their senior pastor. The idea is to help church ministries and pastors prioritize.

Top Highlights:

• Based on their research what people want most and need most match. People's top want is spiritual guidance and that's their top need. 
• Spiritual guidance = helps me develop a personal relationship with Christ; challenges me to grow and take next steps; provides a clear pathway that helps guide my spiritual growth; church leaders model and consistently reinforce how to grow spiritually; helps me understand the Bible in greater depth.
• Belonging (not meaning ownership but affiliation, like with a favorite sports team) is the second most powerful driver for satisfaction and needs to be prioritized by churches, even though it is not a spiritual growth driver, otherwise they won't stay around for spiritual guidance.
• Although "encourages me to take responsibility for my own spiritual growth" didn't factor for satisfaction, it is one of the most important needs and therefore needs to be creatively prioritized.
• People want preaching and vision casting from their senior pastor but most need spiritual challenge for growth. No match.
• The match comes when you look at what people want out of preaching/vision casting: Bible learning, modeling spiritual growth and challenge to grow and take next steps.
• One of the huge surprises: for senior pastors, the role of leading the church had four times the impact on satisfaction with the church's role in spiritual growth compared to the role of teaching/preaching. Even the best sermon doesn't have nearly the spiritual impact as do the day-to-day decisions a senior pastor makes about how to lead a church--specifically the decisions that deliver spiritual guidance through the church.
• We catalyze their spiritual growth by helping them understand the Bible in greater depth, by challenging them to apply Scriptures with specific next steps and by modeling how we are taking those steps ourselves.

Book Highlights: Deliberate Simplicity

I've been following Christ the King Community Church in Washington state for a few years now. Dave Browning, their pastor, has written his manifesto for how they do church in Deliberate Simplicity: How the Church Does More by Doing Less. We've been following a similar philosophy of ministry ever since I came to Five Oaks (way before it was popular), but I learned a lot from Browning. Having generally followed this approach for years, I'm more aware than ever of some down sides that we're currently addressing. Browning doesn't cover the down sides, but he articulates simplicity as well as anybody. (For most of you reading this post, just read the "top highlights.")

Top Highlights:

• There is no growth without change, no change without loss, and no loss without pain. (12)
• …when you have something important to do, keep the process simple. The more complexity in the system, the more likely that implementation will fail. (27)
• …Meyer’s Law: It is a simple task to make things complex, but a complex task to make them simple. (32)
• New believers can learn enough in just a few days to keep them growing for the rest of their lives. If you are taught to read the Word, pray, be in community, and reach out to others, you have the basic equipment to make the journey. (42) 
• …the apostle Paul would go into a pagan community, preach Christ, then appoint elders from among the converts before moving on to a new community…evidently the basic information needed for leadership…could be conveyed in a short period of time.
  
• …discipleship was defined as a relationship, not a program…Once you get pointed in the right direction, time is on your side. (42)
• The greatest sin of the church today is not any sin of commission or sin of omission but the sin of no mission. (69)
• When I was a kid, the solution…to rectify the discrepancy between how we lived our life on Sunday at church and how we lived the rest of the week was to act just as strangely Monday through Saturday as we did on Sunday. The solution I’ve come to as an adult is just opposite: be the same person on Sunday that you are Monday through Saturday. It seems to be working out a lot better. (94)
• While there are a limited number of programs that a Deliberately Simple church may initiate, there are an unlimited number of ministries that individuals may initiate. While corporate programs are discouraged, individual ministries are encouraged. (136)
  

More Highlights:

• While I am committed to a different approach to ministry…different does not necessarily mean better (p. 11).
• What if this church were more like a movement than a ministry? (15) 
• Less is more, and more is better. (17) 
• …if you participate in a Deliberately Simple church, you will most likely meet in a rented auditorium, sit on a stackable, chair, sing along with projected lyrics and a rock band, and hear conversational teaching by a bivocational pastor in blue jeans witting on a stool. (18) 
• …a “boots on the ground” approach to the church’s mission. We believe that if we can get God’s people to simply love God and love people, the church cannot be stopped. (30) 
• Jim Collins: good to great companies made much use of ‘stop doing” lists.
• Worship is the way to stay centered. Small groups is the way to stay connected. Outreach is the way to stay concerned. (44)
• At Christ the King we advocate ten plus ten—ten minutes a day in prayer, and ten minutes a day in the Word. (54)
• …we think big but act small. We keep asking, “What is the simplest thing that could possibly work?” We try to have just enough to facilitate our mission. Just enough money. Just enough time. Just enough leaders. Just enough space. Just enough advertising. (62)
• Most of the worship centers at CTK have begun with an investment of less than five thousand dollars. (54)
• Henry Trumbull…once said, “Unless a man is ready to work for the salvation of others, it may be questioned whether or not he himself is saved.” (70)
• (J.I. Packer) “To seek pleasure, comfort, and happiness is to guarantee that you will miss them all. …become heart realities only as by-products that come from focusing on something else, something perceived as valuable, invigorating, and commanding. The seeds of happiness, it has been truly said, grow most strongly in the soil of service. (71)
• Throughout the years, we have found that two kinds of people fit especially well I a Deliberately Simple church: lost people with ruin and wreckage in their lives, and saved people who have a heart to reach out to lost people. (72)
• It’s time for us to quit standing at the barn doorway, inviting the crops to come in. (74)
• We include “those who are about to come” in our constituency instead of just those who are already here. (76)
• …we want our energy to go into experiencing and expressing the grace of God, not into impression management. (94)
• Bill Gore, founder of…Gore-Tex, is committed to multility [sic] for his workforce. He limits the size of his plants to not more than 150 employees (a size he feels is optimum for a sense of family). To insure this size, he limits the parking lot to 150 cars. He knows it’s time to build a new plant when employees start parking in the grass. (133)
• Our strategy is to multiply groups by multiplying leaders. We have come to the conclusion that we are not in the church growth business. We are not in the church planting business. We are not in the multisite business. We are in the leader deployment business. (192)
• Our process for multiplying leaders is IDTS: identify, deploy, train, support. Deploy first, then train. (192)
• The dream for CTK Community Church is to provide an opportunity for pastorpreneurial leaders to “plug and play.” That is, if you align with the mission, vision, values, beliefs, and priorities of CTK, then you can engage immediately with us in the work. It’s that simple.

 

 

The KIVA.org Story

I did not provide detailed notes on the first day of the Summit and was unfortunately distracted during the session with Jessica Jackley. I read through Dave Ferguson's summary and want to get it out there for everyone because of the nature of what she's doing and the potential for others to join in.

Jessica Jackley is co-founder of Kiva.org, the world's first peer-to-peer on-line micro-lending website. Kiva.org allows internet users to lend as little as $25 to entrepreneurs in the developing world, providing affordable capital to start or expand a small business. In just three years Kiva has helped raise over $84 million and connected thousands of people across 120 countries. A graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Jackley’s work has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Today Show.

These are some of Jessica's comments at the 2009 Leadership Summit when she was interviewed by Jim Mellado:

• I grew up in a home where my mom and dad thought I could do anything and I was crazy enough to believe them.
• It was in Sunday school that I first heard that Jesus said, "...even as you have done unto the least of these you have done it unto me."  I was captivated by the idea that I could do something of ultimate significance.
• I started interviewing entrepreneurs who lived in East Africa that started their businesses on $100 and I was blown away by their success. i began to wonder how I could participate in their success.
• Since launching Kiva.org four years ago $84 million have been loaned to entrepreneurs in under-resourced places around the world; and that number will surpass $100 million in the next year.
• Mission of Kiva.org: Connect people through lending to alleviate poverty.
• It all started with seven entrepreneurs and $3000.00 in loans.
• Remarkably, 98.5% of lenders get a full repayment.
• At Kiva.org we believe that people want to do good.  We also believe that if we act in a way that expects you to be trustworthy it is likely you will respond in a trustworthy manner.
• "Great poets show, they don't tell."  Show people how they can give and what a difference it can make and don't tell them.   
• When you truly believe in the potential of people, the rest of the solution to any problem is just logistics.
• Two pieces of advice for young leaders: #1 Don't be afraid to start small.  The best way to create big change is to start small. #2 Just start.  Don't wait.  Take action.

First-time Guest Comments

Here are the latest comments from cards we send first-time attenders:

Woodbury

• Thank you. It was an uplifting experience.
• I was very impressed with Jessica who was at the welcome table. I have never been offered a tour of the church and a personal introduction to the head pastor on my first visit to any other church. Thank you!

Hudson

• Everyone was very welcoming. Service was nice, although live streaming of the sermon the sermon each week might get old. Music was great (I’m a worship team person myself) but we sat in the 2nd row and the music was overpowering everything. Just too loud. Down a few notches would be great.
• We enjoyed it enough to come back to learn more about the church.

Beg, Borrow and Save (Part 2)

Okay, people like the idea of the church buying a few copies of The Hole in Our Gospel. Someone has even offered to buy a copy, read it and then make it available. Now, how to distribute it. Any ideas?

We're Back on iTunes

You can download audio and video messages again from iTunes. You can go to iTunes store and search us out or link here for the video podcasts. Once there, subscribe for automatic updates.

Job Transition?

I got a two thumbs up from one of our members on the Job Transition group at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie. Check it out here.

Tony Blair: Leadership Summit 2009

• Says he's never felt a ton of self confidence but took risks to step out and lead when felt compelled to.
• How does he deal with criticism and being misunderstood? Counts his blessings. His wife: "What do you to complain about. You have the privilege to do your job."
• Determine your irreducible core, what you won't compromise on and are willing to walk away for.
• Compromise on tactics but keep the strategic objective.