Are you ready for some football?

I'm getting excited for this years NFL season. I watched a little pre-season ball last night after Bible Study. Of coarse my favorite team is the Cleveland Browns. What is funny is I was never a football fan until we lived in Cleveland for a few years. I decided to start watching the Browns so I would have a conversation starter with some of our people. (Everybody was a Brown fan) What can I say, but I got hooked. I love football! Looking forward to crashing after church and watching some games on Sunday. Go Browns!

Doing what is right

I was reading in my devotion time this morning from 1 Kings 22 and I wanted to share with everyone a few things I got from this story. It is a story of a man who does what is right even when it is not popular. Here you have a story of two kings wanting to go to war because one feels a neighboring country belongs to him. Jehoshaphat king of Judah is very smart in saying, "We should inquire of God before we go to battle." The problem was the prophets that were chosen to speak for the Lord were prophets who didn't listen to God but listened to man. They wanted to make the kings happy. They gave a favorable report to the kings that if they went to war they would surely win. Thankfully there was one prophet who didn't listen to people but God. His name was Micaiah. Micaiah had a reputation of not always listening to people. Ahab didn't even want him called upon because he knew of this. I love what Micaiah says in verse fourteen, "As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me that I will speak." Micaiah was not concerned about what others thought. He was more concerned about what God thought. Micaiah spoke God's Word even though it was very unpopular.

There are times in life in ministry where I must speak what is unpopular. Whether that is speaking against sin or standing up for things I know that are unpopular. What is important is, is that I hear from God. I cannot be a people pleaser in my life. My tendency is to want to make everyone happy. Reality is, this is impossible. The same can be said for all of us. We must all realize that God's Word always comes first in our lives. Don't always listen to people's opinion or do what everyone else is doing. This can sometimes be unpopular with your family, co-workers and friends. But we must remember that God will bless when we do what He says.

Work Nights

We are back to work nights once again here at that church. Our new building is almost completed as all we have to do at this point is paint, stain and put in flooring. It is really cool to really see the end in mind. Just over one year ago this building opened up to us as a concrete building, garage doors and all. Now it is being used for Sunday School, fellowships and eventually our new youth ministry. We saw the miracle of God providing the $80,000 in just one year to pay this building completely off. God is surely amazing. I want to encourage you to be a part of putting the last pieces of this building together by joining us at our work nights. Our next one is this Wednesday starting at 5:30 p.m. Get there when you can and we will give you your own paint brush. Pretty cool huh?

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from yesterday:

- It was great to get back in the pulpit. I really missed not preaching for three weeks.
- Started our series yesterday called "Move." My prayer over the next few weeks if for us to get out of our comfort zones and do something on purpose for God.
- My wife is now teaching children's church. She really has a gift in this area as we did kids stuff for the first eight years of ministry. Who knows, maybe we will see the return of Giggles the Clown?
- I have had a lot of comments about worship during the second service. God's presence was truly among us.
- Change of plans with the Back to School 7 Rally. Pastor Keaton made his return and did a great job filling in for the 7 team. We gave away a whole lot of Action Boxes. Now it is up to our teens to win their school for Christ. It is really cool to get together with other churches and team together so Christ can be exalted.

My timeline

This past Tuesday I was in Des Moines for a meeting with area pastors. For the next twelve months I will be learning about leadership and pastoring headed up by Tom Jacobs our District Superintendent. This past meeting we talking about how our past experiences affect how we lead today. This was an exercise I had already went through once with the breaking the 250 barrier group last Spring but it was good to once again see how my past affects how I lead today. I have been very blessed with a lot of good things in my life. I've had some hard times as a teenager and have had a season of lows in ministry but yet I have seen how God takes those things and molds us into the people He wants us to be. I have also learned that I hate conflict because of my past and I tend to be a people pleaser. I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO LOVE ME! I know that is impossible in ministry and I know God calls us to do things that not everyone will agree on. For example, God called Moses into the promise land and all his followers except for two said it couldn't be done. One of things I am learning is I have to be confident in myself and my leadership and what God is calling me to do and how to lead this church. If I am confident in this and I obey what God is telling me, He will do the rest. If you have never done a life assessment, I challenge you to do so sometime. Just start with your birth and start writing in the highs in your life and the lows in your life. It will reveal a lot about why you are the way you are.

First day of school

Today the kids are back in school. It is amazing how fast the summers go. Both our kids were pretty excited about going back. Olivia had her backpack packed all up on Monday. It seems to get easier and easier dropping them off. Jennifer didn't even cry this year which was a first. It is hard to believe that Olivia is now in third grade and Caleb is in first. Time goes so quickly! I'm just reminded how I need to cherish each moment with my kids because I know some day they will be gone and living their own lives.

Starting this Sunday we begin our new series called "Move". It has been three weeks since I've preached and I'm a little pumped about getting back in the pulpit. I'm very excited about this series as I really feel that these are messages God has laid upon my heart for us as a church. God is calling us to get up and move!

Farewell to a Friend

Today was Pastor Keaton's last Sunday with us and it was definitely a Sunday filled with a lot of emotion. I thought Keaton did an excellent job with his message just sharing from his heart what it means to have intimacy with God. The thing that stuck out the most is how we need to start seeking God's face more then His hand. As we begin to seek God's face, His hand will come naturally. I totally lost it at the end of the first service as I saw my daughter Olivia crying as she will miss Keaton dearly. Keaton will be missed by us all and we appreciate all he has done for us the last two years.

Prodigal Friendly Church

I was reminded once again this week by an article by Dary Northup why it is important that we should be a prodigal friendly church. You may know the story from Luke 15 where the young son runs away from home and ends up spending his inheritance. This son finally comes to his senses and decides to come home thinking that he will work for his father as a servant. To his surprise, his father welcomes him with open arms but yet his elder brother would not even acknowledge him as a brother. We must remember that Jesus was talking to the religious leaders of his day. They were the picture of the elder brother. This spirit of the elder brother is still amongst us today. It is important that as a church we do not allow this spirit amongst us. We must be a church that welcomes all no matter what their spiritual background is. Here are five things Dary Northup says is a important to a prodigal friendly church.

1. Appreciate diversity- from clothing, hairstyles, etc. Sometimes as Christians we get a cookie-cutter mindset of what a Christian is to look like.

2. Respect the spiritual journey of every person in the room- The church should be a safe place to ask questions, to disagree and to share opinions. We are all on a different journey with our walk with God.

3. Trust the Holy Spirit to lead people in lifestyle changes- Remember that we are not called to be the Holy Spirit in a persons life. When we try to clean a person up, it just brings confusion.

4. Church must understand the differences between absolutes, cultural expectations and preferences. Some Christians try to make our preferences Biblical absolutes then they are not. When churches place cultural expectations or personal preferences on a prodigal or the unchurched it places an undue burden that they may not be able to carry.

5. Prays for an authentic move of God in people in every church service- There are no gimmicks in the world that can compete with God's Spirit moving in the heart of a person. The prodigal friendly church prays for that move of the Spirit in people's lives.

Let us not have a spirit of the elder brother but continue to be a church that welcomes people and allows God to move in their lives.

Focus

Back in the office today and my prayer for today is "Lord, help me to focus." Being gone for seven days on a cruise and looking out at the beautiful ocean and now I'm looking out my window and seeing LP tanks. Quite a difference! In all seriousness, I have a lot to focus on right now. Please be in prayer for the following:

1. The future of our children's and youth ministries
2. Seven Project is just around the corner is so is our Back to School Rally
3. Wisdom and guidance for the direction of our church
4. Find and recruit new leaders for ministry

I know God is in control of it all but my prayer is that I can be the vessel that He can work through to see it all accomplished.

We're Back!

Just got back late last night from our trip. It was a great time of relaxing and enjoy God's creation. The service on the cruise was amazing and the islands were beautiful. I will have to say it is good to be back and see our kids. Seven days a way from them was a little hard. Here are some pics of the scenery.