Catalyst thoughts

As promised, here are some take aways that I received from Catalyst. For those that don't know Catalyst a young leaders conference that is held every year on Atlanta GA. John Maxwell was the one who actually started Catalyst almost 10 years ago but it has now developed into its own thing. Lots of great leaders spoke and lots of great information. Here are few things I wanted to share:

Andy Stanley on leadership: Moral Authority is the best authority. In order to be a great leader I must have character and lead by example. That includes in the area of forgiveness, family and finances.

Jim Collins from Good to Great: So much good information from Collins that it would take forever to explain. My main take away is as a leader I need to have the right people on my team. Jim calls it the bus. We need to find the right who's before the whats. He also nailed it when he talked about focusing on one big thing. The big thing is; 'what are we passionate about', 'what can we do better then anyone else', and 'what are our resources to fund it?' Good stuff from Collins

Steven Futrick from Elevation Church: Steve is 26 years old and is pastoring a church of 3500. This guy blew the top as he preached from 1 Kings 18 about the small cloud that Elijah saw. He talked about staying with your dream and being faithful in the process until you see it come to pass.

Craig Groeschel: I have never seen Craig so passionate. Craig talked about the "It Factor" and why some churches have it and why some loose it. The difference comes from those who try to build God's church from those who try to build their own church. Craig challenged us to pray two prayers that I have begun to pray: 1. God stretch me 2. God ruin me

Dave Ramsey: Dave talked about the ememies of unity. I didn't know Dave Ramsey was such a great spiritual leader. I love what Dave said about the state of our economy. We must realize that fear is a spirit. What is going on in our country right now is a spirit of fear. This fear is not from God. As believers we should not panic. If we have done things God's way from the beginning there shouldn't be any problem.

Billy and Franklin Graham: Billy Graham could not be there due to his health but Franklin spoke and talked about the power of the Gospel. I thought his word was good as in today's culture in church we can get caught up in all the trivial things of the worship service but we must realize that it is only the Gospel that can change lives. We must not be ashamed to preach this message. It is the power of God and salvation to all who believe.

There were a few other workshops but these are the highlights. Like I said in an earlier post, God really shook me last week and I am seeking Him for a specific word for us as a church in the coming year. I am thankful for all these great leaders and their investment to speak into our lives this past week.

Browns win!

What a day yesterday! I found my ipod which I have been missing since last April. I thought it got stolen when I was in Des Moines. It happened to be in a bag in my office when I purchased a print cartridge awhile back. WhooHoooo! To the end the day off my Cleveland Browns were featured on Monday Night Football. It has been five years since the Browns have been on Monday night and they faced off the undefeated NY Giants. No one gave them a chance including myself. What a game! The Browns pulled it off with great offense from Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards. There may still be a season left. Go Browns!

Myths Conclusion

We wrapped up our series yesterday on "Mindset Myths Busted." We wrapped it up with a talk on the myths of sex. Our culture today is filled with different mindsets on sex. If we fill our mind with these myths it will lead us to the wrong actions. Our big idea for the message was "What we do today affects our tomorrow." We may not realize it but our actions today do affect our tomorrow, especially when it comes to our sexuality. Satan is the author of lies and wants to believe in the myths of sex. David is a great example of one who gave into the myths when he slept with Bathsheba. David tried to cover up his shame but David found out that there are always consequences for our actions. David ended up loosing his kingdom for a time and the baby Bathsheba was carrying died. Thankfully in the story of David, he repented and God gave him back his kingdom and a son. The point is, when we give into the myths we will always regret it later. There are three commitments that we need to make as believers when it comes to this important subject:

1. Honor God- Put God first before any relationship
2. Honor the other person- If you love the other person then honor them by waiting to have sex until marriage. If you are married, then honor your spouse by being faithful.
3. Honor you- Don't settle for less then God's best! Too many ladies settle for some jerk who treats them like an object instead of a person. YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT!

Don't give into the myths of sex. Know if you do things God's way there is always blessings involved.

Back from Atlanta

Just got back last night around eleven. It is good to be back home and with the family. Catalyst was awesome. It was great to be with other pastors and build some relationships with these guys. Sometimes pastoring can be a bit lonely so it was good to share ideas and stories. I don't think I have laughed that much in a long time. I will post over the next few days some of the workshops what I learned. God definately rocked my world this week and I am excited to share some of my thoughts. For now it is time to study for tomorrow.

Headed to Catalyst

I will be gone all this week as I am headed to Atlanta for Catalyst with a bunch of pastors from Iowa. I know it will be a great week and I'm looking forward to some learning and spending some time with a great bunch of guys. Please pray for safety on my trip and I will post when I get back.

Supernatural

We talked about the supernatural today in church. The Myth we busted is 'God doesn't need or do the supernatural today.' We went back to the 30's when Morris Plotts came to Montezuma. I hope to get the video posted on either here or the website. Morris Plotts is known for his tent revival meetings around this area. When he came to Monte he was imprisoned for 30 days for being a public nuisance to the community. When Morris left it was said that he put a curse over the town. The myth of the curse has been busted because seventy four years later Community Hope is a thriving church in Montezuma. GOD IS BIGGER THEN OUR THOUGHTS AND IMAGINATIONS! One of the ways that God often works is through the supernatural. Many of the old tent revivals were known for supernatural occurrences. What about today? Does God want to work the supernatural today? I believe so and as we approach these last days I believe we will see more and more of the supernatural. The supernatural is simply something that we cannot do ourselves and can only come from God. In the Bible there is a pattern of supernatural things that happened. I believe that these things can happen for us today. What are they?

1. Power of the Spirit with a supernatural language given as evidence- Acts 2
2. Healing
3. Signs and Wonders
4. Gifts of the Holy Spirit-1 Corinthians 12

These things are not given for theatrical sensations but they are given to glorify God so that people can be drawn to Him. That is always the purpose of the supernatural. If you need the supernatural, don't limit God to what He can do. Know that He is the same today as He was in the Bible. Go to Him for your needs and believe that He is a supernatural God!

E2

Just got back from E2 last night in Des Moines. Once a year our District hold meetings for area pastors and it is always good to get together and get refreshed in the Lord. This years speaker was Denny Curran from River of Life AG in Cold Springs MN. Denny was very encouraging because Denny is a pastor in a community of only 3000 people. Denny has been used by God to do some incredible things in this small town. Since he has been there, his church has grown to over 600 people. That is not only the incredible thing about his ministry. His church has planted five other churches in other small towns. Denny is doing big things in a small community. God really challenged me the last two days to think outside the box. I know God has already done some incredible things in our church but I really feel that God is not done. I feel in my heart that the best is yet to come and seeing what God has done in Denny's church encourages me to know God can do it here too!

Amazed by God

We had great services once again yesterday and I think the worship team was right on. The special they did from Casting Crowns was amazing. It also good to see some visitors in church yesterday as well. What I was most amazed about was our baptism service last night. We baptized three people at the Jackson Church and I always love baptisms because you get to see and hear what God is doing amongst people. I also found out some pretty crazy things as well about how small our world is. Come to find out that a new family in our church, one who got baptized last night has connections with Jen's family. Jen's real dad used to work for this family's parents at one time. Here is the crazy thing- Jennifer was born in Fairfield, Iowa and this is the area that that Jen's real dad used to work as a hired hand on the farm. Now we all have ended up in Montezuma. It even gets crazier, the brother of this new family has connections with Jen's step dad and mom through a church in Adel Iowa. They knew each other though church and when they showed up last night all the connections came together. (Are you confused yet?) Small world huh? What was also cool is another man that got baptized last night was the original owner of our building. Through the testimony of one of our men in our church, he has now given his life to Christ and now is serving God. God amazes me! It is truly cool to see God at work . He is alive and changing lives!

Proud Hubby

I am a proud husband this week! My wife Jennifer finished her book, "In the Rain." It has been a long journey and a dream of Jen to be a writer. I know there is a still a long road ahead but the fact that she finished the book is totally awesome. I am proud that she is chasing her dream and finding her gifts that God has given her. One of my pet peeves is the expectations of the pastors wife. Some people believe the pastors wife needs to lead the choir, lead the women's ministry, play the piano, etc. Let's just be honest, not everyone has those gifts. It is a huge burden to carry if that is not your gift. My wife is not the type that is real comfortable getting in front of people and speaking. It is not her gift. She would rather be behind the scenes and helping in ways that many don't know about it. Her main calling is that of mother. We have three precious little ones at home and that is a great responsibility all to itself. She is also called to be my help mate. I know that there are times in ministry that I couldn't do it without her. Thirdly, she is now found her gift in writing. This is exciting because it is something God has gifted her with. It is her passion! I am excited to see how God is going to use her in this gift. Please be in prayer as we look to the second step in this road of finding an agent and publisher. Who knows where God will take us next!

Danger of Routines

So I have convicted as of late about routines. Not all routines are bad of course like brushing your teeth which I hope you all did this morning but some routines can actually stump our creativity. As of late I have been stuck in a rut. I'm not for sure why and I can't put my finger on it. As I was reading a quote from Mark Batterson a light bulb when on in my head. Here is what he said. "Change of place + change of pace =change of perspective". Isn't that the truth. How many of know when you simply change the place you are at and change your pace you gain a new perspective on things. Yesterday I decided to go the lake and pray and read my Bible instead of spending my prayer time at the church or at home. What a refreshing feeling to be outside in God's creation and read His Word. I am going to make it a habit to change my place and change my pace. Whether that's studying somewhere other then my office, have meetings other then the church, do something with the family that is unexpected. I am going to try hard to not get stuck in a routine. I have found that God often speaks in times when we are not in our routines. I have heard God speak at camps, retreats, missions trips, etc. It is not that these places are all that special but it simply the action of getting out and getting a fresh perspective on things. If you are stuck in a routine and feel like you are going no where, take the challenge of doing something different. You never know, you may gain a new perspective on something and God may speak to you in whole new way.

Umbrella of Authority

Started our series yesterday on "Busting Mindset Myths." We talked about a difficult subject yesterday as we busted the myth of authority. Many people have given in to the myth that we don't need to listen or be under any authority. This is such a deception in our culture today and as we found out it is also a lie of Satan. God is the one who established authority and as Romans 13 states if we go against authority we are going against God Himself. The only time we are given permission to go against authority is if the person in authority is asking you to go against God's Word. Other than that we are told to be under authority. We also looked at the story of David and Saul and how David had two chances to take Saul's life but chose not to because Saul was the king that God had chosen as the authority. I truly believe that authority is like an umbrella. If we are under God's umbrella of authority, God's blessing and protection will follow. I have seen it time and time again that when people go outside the umbrella it always cost them something in the end. Let me recap the three ways we can get under the umbrella:

1. Pray for those in authority- We need to be praying for those in leadership.
2. Honor those in authority- Romans 13 tells us to give respect and honor to those in authority.
3. Submit to those in authority- This takes humility on our part but it is always God's way.

Let's not give into the myth that we don't need authority. Look to God's Word and know that authority is for our good and has been given by God.

Wild Goose Chase

Just picked up "Wild Goose Chase" by Mark Batterson this week. Many don't know this but Mark is an Assembly of God minister in Washington D.C. He is one of the most creative guys I've ever met and God is using him to influence thousands of people. They currently have church in Union Station at the theaters there and on Saturday nights they have church in a coffee house they built. I got the chance to meet Mark personally last year and take him out for some Starbucks and got the chance to have some one on one conversation. He is an extremely nice guy and has a heart to see the church go outside its walls to reach the unchurched. The "Wild Goose Chase" is definitely going to be a good read and I'm only in chapter four but I think this book is better then his last, "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day." The "Wild Goose" is what the Celtic Christians used to call the Holy Spirit. The whole idea of the book is that as believers we need to listen to the Spirit, get out of our cages and begin to pursue God. When we begin to truly listen to the Spirit, life becomes an adventure. I know I have a few cages I need to get out of so I'm ready to get out and let the Spirit lead. Awesome thought!

I am really excited about our new message series starting this Sunday on "Mindset Myths." There are so many people that have different mindsets when it comes to spiritual and cultural topics. For the next four weeks we will be tackling four topics that I believe people have certain myths about. This will definitely be four weeks you won't want to miss so I will see you Sunday and invite a friends as well.

Heath and a cold night

We had great services yesterday as we were blessed to have Heath Adamson back with us for both services. If you were at the second service and missed the first, Heath preached a different message and you can check it out on the podcast. I am so amazed how God is using Heath to reach the public schools and using him in the area of signs and wonders in the church. Heath and I went to the same high school, was in the same youth group and even served together on staff at Berean Assembly of God in Des Moines. Heath has always had a passion for God and has been used by Him in incredible ways.

Last night we also had our annual picnic. It felt more like late October then September. It was cold and rainy but we still had a good turn out. We had some great food and wonderful fellowship. I also learned that I need to get in shape as I played basketball with some of the college guys and teens. Needless to say, I was out of breath.

Yesterday was a great day of being in the presence of God and hanging out as a body!

7 comes to town

What a great week we had with the Seven Project. Heath and his team did a great job speaking in the school and the night time rally was a huge success. We had 94 commitments to Christ at the night rally and over 126 teens attended. We had an arm wrestling contest between the schools and Monte won. It was a great time of fun and most importantly seeing teenagers come to know Christ. I was so proud of all the help we had at the evening rally. It went very smooth because of all the great help we had. Thanks for your prayers for this project and let's continue to pray that we will see many of these teenagers discipled for Christ.

Sunday

I think all the summer plans and vacations are over as we had a lot of people back this past Sunday. It was good to see the sanctuary full again! Sunday was once again a whirlwind of day, so here are my thoughts and reflections:

- Wrapped up the 'Move' series yesterday. I changed my message the last minute as I felt God wanted us to talk about the topic of faith. We took a look at the life of Abraham and how God took him to the very point of uncomfortable faith. The story of Abraham is amazing as you see how Abraham was moved from one faith to the next. Through and through Abraham learned to depend on God even when it was uncomfortable. My challenge to us all is, "What are we doing right now in our life that requires faith?" Good question for all of us to ask.

- Had nursing homes yesterday and it is always a joy to minister there. I had the people pick out the songs and I am embarrassed to say I didn't know half the hymns they chose. ( I just faked the words.) I need to brush up on my hymns!!!!

- Went to Diamond Life and grilled out hot dogs for the residents there. It was fun time to build relationships with the people at Diamond Life. They are truly special people.

- Went home after Diamond Life and watched my Browns get destroyed! The offense didn't look so bad but these guys are going to have to get some defense by next week. The Cowboys had their way on the offensive end.

7 Project Countdown

We are now less then a week away from the 7 Project coming. We start Monday at BGM, Tuesday to Tri-County and Wednesday here in Monte. We still need lots of help for the huge event. Here is the run down of what we need:

Set up Crew- Be at the school on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m.
Prayer buddies- These will be people that will lead the kids in the salvation prayer on Wednesday night. Please be at the school no later then 5:45 p.m. for training.
Registration help- We need people to sign the kids in for the evening rally.
People to represent CH- We need people wearing our blue and white t-shirts to hand out information about our church and new youth ministry.
Tear down crew- About ten volunteers to help tear down the equipment.

If you can help in these areas, please let us know. We can use all the help we can get. If you can't be there, please be in prayer. Pray that God moves and that many teens receive Christ into their lives.

Breakfast Club

We kicked off the Breakfast Club yesterday morning for the late start at the school. We had some great help and lots of cereal for the boys and girls. I think this is a great idea and a good bridge to build with the local school. Many parents don't have a place to take their kids during a late start so what an opportunity for the church to open their doors. By the time the kids ate their breakfast and watched Underdog it was time to take them to school. I'm looking forward to doing this again and looking for other opportunities we can build bridges into our community.

Past Sunday

Labor Day is over and it is back to the office. We had a good time with our family as we went to Des Moines and grilled out with my family this weekend. I don't get the chance to hang out with my sisters that often so it was good to see them. If you missed this past Sunday due to Labor Day plans, I want to encourage you to check out the message on www.communityhope.org. This past Sunday we continued our "Move" series with a message on 'service'. I really believe in the power of the body and how much we could accomplish if we all engaged our gifts together to expand the kingdom of God. At the end of the service we handed out cards with specific ministries that we could use help in. Again I want to thank everyone who already uses their gifts to help the church. We couldn't do what we do on a weekly basis with out you!

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!