More Thr3e

I am still processing everything from Tuesday and what God was/is speaking to me.

I mentioned in my last post about THR3E that the level of transparency was unusual coming from a church and pastor hosting a conference. Many conferences will make light of some past mistakes that have been made, but they still work hard to present themselves in the light of "success." This is not an indictment, I fully understand it. In the attempt to put "their best foot forward" it sometimes gets overpolished and overcooked to the point of being too slick.

We have hard wood floors in our house. They are beautiful and they look great when they are polished and shiny. My wife is teaching our daughters various life skills including cleaning. Not long ago, she let them take turns polishing the floors. They got a little carried away with the polish in a couple of spots. The floors looked great! But, if you weren't careful, you would have an undignified slip and even fall because the floors were overpolished and too slick. Not even shoes could prevent this. Eventually, the polish wore down and now those spots aren' treacherous any longer.

It was refreshing to see and hear Steven Furtick and staff be brutally honest about what got them where they are and what they face. He laid it all on the line and held nothing back. Even admitting his personal struggles and insecurities as a leader. He is a great man of God and a great leader, but he is human and flawed. That is vital. It is vital because that is what and who God uses: flawed men who do not shrink back because of their flaws and do not attempt to present themselves as more than they are.

Everyone of us could do with some more transparency in our lives. I'm not talking about dumping our crap on everyone we meet and constantly presenting ourselves as needy and whiny and weak. I'm talking about living real and not being phony and plastic in our relationships. Life is gritty and it is dirty, so why do we try and present like we are living on clouds and everything is white and shiny and clean?!

We are flawed. Let's admit it. Let us also strive to overcome. Let us live to encourage and build up. Let us work to glorify God. His strength is made perfect in our weakness, not in our best most polished projections of ourselves. If we really want to glorify God, let's allow people to see that He is working in, through, and among us even though we are not perfect. That brings Him more glory than anything.

Elevation church is glorifying God. They are doing it by giving their best most passionate effort, by obeying His Word, by trying things and failing and succeeding, by being real and raw, by allowing God to do His thing among them and in them. Would that more of us would live and operate the same. We would see more churches have exponential growth.

Spring Game

I have more I am going to post about the Thr3e event yesterday, but that will come later. I planned this post before yesterday and want to get it online.

We had some friends in for the weekend. On Saturday, the men went to the OSU spring game and the ladies went shopping. The attendance at the spring game set a new national record: over 95,000. The weather had some to do with it as it was an absolutely beautiful day. To the credit of OSU all the gate money ($5 per person) went to local charities. The concessions, um, probably not. More on that in a moment.

We arrived two hours before game time and there was a lacrosse game taking place vs. Notre Dame. There was already 31,000 in the stadium. I don't know what a normal attendance for lacrosse is, but it is not 31,000.

Even arriving that early we had to park some distance away and then sit in the upper deck. The parking lots were crammed with tailgaters that had been there since very early that morning. They were going through the food and drink! It was quite the sight to behold. Remember all of this is for a practice! Not even a scrimmage against another team. It is a teammate vs. teammate practice.

Allow me to stop and say this has nothing to do with which team this was surrounding. I am sure the same is true at any serious football school.

As a sat there contemplating all of this while drinking my FOUR DOLLAR bottle of Diet Coke, a few thoughts hit me. This was "church" for many of the folks there. They were sacrificing their time and energy to be there to watch their team play and get "revved" up. There was cheering and clapping and worship. There was loud music and voices coming over the sound system. There was a playbook. There was even a bulletin (program)! People were generous with their money, at least in buying from the merchandisers and concessions. These people were committed and loyal and unashamed in their praise. They were loud and boisterous and demonstrative.

That even I was having a conversation with a friend in our neighborhood about all of this as we talked about priorities. The amount of money spent on the day and the tailgating and the food is a bit mind-boggling. Yet most everyone there was not complaining and they will come back.

Oh yeah, they will come back even if coach Tressel or his staff never calls them or shakes their hands. They will come back in spite of being crowded and uncomfortable. They will come back despite the loudmouths and the jerks and the hypocrites. They will come back even though they don't like what the coach called or how the officials handled the game. They will come back because they are sold out to the team. They will come back because it is an unforgettable experience and it grabs their passion.

I wonder...

THR3E

I am sitting here in the airport in Charlotte waiting to catch my flight home. To say I am overwhelmed, would not adequately explain it.

I knew that today would be worth the time and expense. Just the experience alone plus the resources that were promised made the trip worthwhile. I was hoping that I would also have a God encounter today. I did. In fact, everything exceeded my expectations.

Allow me to use this blog as a public journal over the next few days as I process what God is speaking. For this post, I will give the initial and surface things I observed and experienced today.

First, I don't know that I will ever attend another "typical" conference/seminar. I might, but right now, I can't imagine how the typical format could be as worthwhile as today. I will attend events, but I will be quite selective and even extreme in being exclusive about the ones I choose. The reasons will be many of the things I share here from today over how ever many posts it ends up being.

There was no hype, no music, no booths, no vendors, no marketing, limited use of video, no slick presentations. It was raw and it was real. It was as authentic and transparent as I have ever seen a church and leadership be in a group setting. It was also limited. Truly limited. I've seen events called "limited" but they were not. 1500 is not truly limited. This was 150. On top of that there was a volunteer worker for every three attenders. More on that in a moment. The point is, there was nothing to distract from God's voice and the principles being shared.

I was impressed the moment I walked down the street toward the venue. There was a crowd of volunteers wearing Thr3e t-shirts standing outside with Krispy Kreme donuts and they immediately engaged anyone who walked up. The volunteer that got to me first was Maria. She made me feel like a VIP instantly. She wrote down my name and info and walked me into the registration table where she got the name tag (pre-printed and nice!) and conference pack for me. Then she made sure I had something to drink and showed me to the snack table. Maria introduced me to some of the staff members and a couple of other pastors who were for the event. She then handed me a business card with the Thr3e logo and her name along with her cell phone number and instructions to call or text for anything that I might need that day. Throughout the day she checked in on me and made sure I had water etc. and introduced me to others as the day went on. The care and attention was amazing. As far as I could tell, every person there got the same treatment. Amazing! I spoke with some of the church staff and they could not say enough about volunteers in their church. These 50 or so individuals took a day off work and arrived at 6 am knowing they would be there until 7 pm and spend the whole day serving others. We have got to find a way to make that the normal way we treat people week in and week out at church.

I have so much more to say, but I've written enough for now. More will come.

Posted from Thr3e

Absolutely incredible. God is speaking thru Steven Furtick and the staff of Elevation at Thr3e.
There is so much truth and wisdom and insight being imparted.
I'll be blogging about it for some time I am sure.
There are some things that are just reading me right now. As I process all of it there will be some things I implement in our context.
One thing that has been in my heart was confirmed. Something else is going to be changed. Details will follow.

Sunday Unwind

It's late and I'm sitting in my chair with my feet up for the first time today. Not complaining at all, though.

Had a great morning before service. Started the day outside on our patio for a bit just focusing on the beauty of the day God made.

I had a different kind of sense about the day early on. During worship, I knew God wanted to break in some way, and I was just making sure I was in tune with Him. Called a HUGE audible and had everyone sit down and went right into the message for the day. It was basically what I had prepared, but with a few on the fly tweaks.

God has the miracle ready for each one that needs it. The answer is going to come through something that is already there. The widow in the account in 2 Kings 4 didn't think she had anything, much less the answer to her dilemma. Yet, God used what she did have and brought the provision that was needed.

The twist came in as I added another group that I was speaking to from this passage. Those that feel like they are not receiving from God like they once did. Their passion and life have grown a bit stagnant spiritually. When we stop pouring what we do have, God stops flowing more. The oil kept flowing for the widow as long as she had jars to pour into. As soon as she stopped pouring, the oil stopped flowing. Many are receiving from God, but never pouring themselves out.

You can catch the full podcast here.

Because I spoke first and then had a response time followed by the offering, etc. We ended about 15-20 minutes earlier than normal. Had some funny comments regarding it. It also exposed a couple of things we need to work on as a team in our Sunday morning structures. I will be processing it all and even asking some questions about the length of our service and the elements involved. It is always good to evaluate, especially after an unexpected change that gives a slightly different perspective. Don't know what, if anything, that means fully yet.

After a great lunch (steak and grilled shrimp!) I spent the afternoon washing the vehicles with my daughter. Then our family went to a neighborhood thing on the next street over. I love living in this neighborhood, it is incredible! That was followed by some intense racquetball. :-)

Tomorrow, after a round of golf, I am boarding a plane for Charlotte, NC to go to THR3E at Elevation Church on Tuesday. I am greatly looking forward to this! This church has gone from 119 to over 5000 with a record attendance of 7800 on Easter in three years!!!

Gonna crash soon. I'll post some this week about my trip as well as the OSU spring game I went to yesterday with some friends. Also, I'll be sharing some things we are preparing in the days to come.

Until...

Sunday Unwind

WHAT A DAY!

I love what I do and I love Capital City Church!

First, we had a good time at the Bible quiz meet yesterday with our kids. We had three teams of children competing in matches of Bible knowledge. The competition is just an incentive and structure. The real purpose is to get kids to memorize and learn the Word of God; always a good thing. That said, we did have two of the teams come in first place in their respective divisions.

A few thoughts from this incredible Sunday.

• We showed a video to start the service today. It was powerful and inspirational. If you were late, sorry, you missed it. We're giving fair warning, you never know how we are going to start a Sunday gathering, if you're late, you'll miss out.
• Worship today was very good. The congregation was into it and really connecting with God.
• I struggled for a few minutes with what I felt God was leading, and then I followed and God broke in!
• We had a tremendous altar time right there during the worship segment. God was healing and guiding and doing His thing. I felt very impressed that it was someone's moment with God and the urgency of that in me was quite strong. I hope and pray that person(s) didn't miss God today. There was some very real breakthrough happening, I know that for sure.
• Made and appeal today for the Teen Challenge of Columbus. We are partnering with other churches from central Ohio to help them finish a building they need in order to expand and refine their services to women dealing with life controlling addictions. We'll be taking an offering for this project, next week.
  
• Started a new series today, "What's In Your Bag?" About fulfilling our purpose.
  
• Today we dealt with fundamentals. If we want to hear the voice of God speaking to us, we must get the basics right: love God, love people.
• It is that simple. We must always come back to that every day and every situation. It is where we start and where we must live.
• Jesus made life and spirituality simple for us. We are the ones who complicate everything.
• It's simple, yet is is also hard. It is difficult to stay focused and live out our purpose for God. We are bombarded by so many voices and distractions and our own issues as well as dealing the complications of man and life. As long as we always come back to the basics and let the fundamentals be our foundation, we can make it through the stuff and get past the noise.
• Here the full podcast here.
  
• I was wiped out after service. We had a cookout with some friends and then I crashed for a while before and evening meeting followed by racquetball.
  
• I am pumped about the next two weeks! I could just about preach next Sunday's message right now!
• We have some cool things coming up.
• Baby Dedications on Mother's Day!
• Special surprise speaker on Mother's Day, don't miss this!
• Water Baptism on May 17.
• Friday night golf will be starting soon.
• Softball season is approaching quickly.
• Teen Challenge work days.
• Much more...

Links

Here are a few things I have read lately that I want to pass along:

• Steven Furtick talks about family and God relationship here
• Dave Ferguson has some thoughts on discipleship here
• This FAIL made me laugh here
• Human3rror shares Tozer's thoughts on distractions here
• Geoff Surratt gives his perspective of the Newsweek Article proclaiming the demise of Christianity in America here
• John Musgrave talks about trust here
• Pete Wilson talks about Susan Boyle and challenges the church here
• Todd Rhoades talks about perseverance here
• In the outrageous category go here
• There is also a website with amazing photographs you won't be believe are not Photoshop creations, but I won't link it or even name it because the site has some foul language and a few offensive photos on it. It can be found with a search, but don't say I didn't warn you.
  

Just a few things to make you think or laugh.
Have a great day!

A Thought

Not sure where this is from or what inspired me to write it, but I ran across this in my journal:
"It is not a life of faith if one is engaged in the work of God. It is not about position, titles, or volunteerism; it is about being active in making God known to those who do not."

So many church goers would say they are living a life of faith or some equivalent form of that saying. I wonder how many really are. In hearing and reading church folk it seems that way more are concerned about their own personal preferences, comfort, and desires. If the music is too new, too old, too loud, too quiet they complain. If the preacher wears a tie, doesn't wear a tie, shouts, doesn't shout, preaches series, preaches verse by verse, preaches from a script, from notes, from memory people gripe and complain. Folks leave churches over the color chosen to paint something. People get upset over and announcement that was made. Folks fight over who gets recognition. People are offended if they weren't personally greeted by the pastor or some other leader. Offenses, gripes, complaints, confrontations, pouting, quitting, and so on are all signs (fruits) of a life that is not living in faith. Rather, these are all fruits of a life living in self.

What would happen if we became less focused on what makes us feel good and comfortable and we started working to help others find the love of God even when it is outside of our comfort zone and preferences?

I think things would change in this world.

Sunday Unwind

Easter weekend. JESUS IS ALIVE!

This is what we celebrate. This is the message we proclaim. It's why we exist.

Yesterday was incredible! We held our Easter Egg Hunt in the morning at Winterset Elementary. The attendance was fantastic! Largest ever for Cap City. Best of all, 75% of those there were guests. That is awesome! We gave out 5000 eggs, who knows how many pounds of chocolate, and 60 prize packs. Next year we plan on at least 10,000 eggs. Cap City folks, as you have opportunity, hit the post Easter sales and pick up plastic eggs for our Egg Hunt next year. Thanks!

After the Egg Hunt we had some men show up to do some work around the grounds. We pulled weeds, raked mulch, and just did some general sprucing up. The place looked very nice for this morning.

This morning, we started the day with the Sonrose breakfast. The men and women who put that together just rocked it! The food was terrific and everything looked so elegant! Thank you for the extra effort! I love this church! We have some of the best people you can find anywhere!

10 am.

There was definite anticipation in the air. The worship team locked in and we were off and running. God's Spirit was there and moving among hearts and lives. The song "Mighty to Save" is becoming an anthem of the church. One of my favorites for sure.

Shared from Luke 24 this morning. Today is Easter so we focus on the resurrection. I never want to fall into the trap of trying to get cute and clever with the story of Jesus. There is no reason to preach anything other than the cross and empty tomb at Easter.

Focused in on the fact that the disciples struggled with the reality of Christ's resurrection. You and I would have also. We have the luxury of 2000 years of history to look at those events. They lived them. They saw Jesus die. Their hopes were dashed and their lives turned on end. We shouldn't blame or judge them for their struggles. We struggle with our faith and trust in God still today. We have been told that God is in control and He has the end in hand, yet we worry and stress and get down trodden.

The disciples on the road to Emmaus were discouraged and didn't recognize Jesus because they couldn't get past themselves and their own let down of what had just happened. Even as Jesus walked with them and talked with them, they didn't realize that their Savior, Lord, Messiah was right there. So often, we don't realize God is with us or hear His voice when He speaks because our own discouragement keeps us down. But once Jesus reminded them of the prophets and scriptures, their eyes were opened. He told them the story of Himself. When life is blinding us to the truth of God and we are struggling in our walk with God, we just need to go back to the story. We need to tell others of the story, we need to live the story. When we do, our eyes are opened. The eyes of others are opened. Once their eyes were opened, they told the others and there was no turning back.

I wonder what would happne if we truly got a view of the risen Savior and lived out our lives everyday proclaiming that "He is Alive!"?

You can hear the full podcast of this morning's message here.

Today was the wrap of the "HiStory" series and next week opens up the series "What's In Your Bag?". In this series we will be looking at fulfilling God's purposes in our lives.

Great things are happening and the best is yet to come!

Friday

Today we remember the death of Christ on the cross.

• It is a celebration because of what was accomplished.
• It is also a somber remembrance of the suffering He endured.
• It is a day of sadness because our sin is the reason He went to the cross.
• It is a day of healing as it is by His stripes we are healed.
• It is a day of forgiveness as our sins were atoned for.
• It is gory.
• It is gritty.
• It is ugly.
• It is dark.
  
• It is grisly.
  
• It is holy.
• It is pure.
• It is for everyone.
• It is personal.
• It's Friday, but Sunday is coming!
  

The Shack

I finished reading the book "The Shack" recently and I wanted to post some thoughts.

First, I don't see why all the controversy. I know some big name people have some very strong opinions about the book and people are quite concerned about it. I don't get it. The most important thing to remember about the book is it is FICTION. This is not a theological text book or a claim as an add-on to the Bible. It is a work of fiction and should be taken as such. Anyone that is wasting their time trying to pick this book apart theologically is just focused the wrong way and spinning their wheels. Why do we have to make everything an issue as if the future of the body of Christ rests on a book? Many did so with "DaVinci Code" and now this. These are fiction works.

Are there problems with "The Shack" when stacked up to theological understandings? Yes. The same could be said about almost EVERY piece of literature ever written. No work outside of scripture is the infallible and perfect Word of God.

However, I do believe "The Shack" does a decent job addressing why bad things happen and what God's role is in the dirty and dark side of life. I also think it captures God's character in many ways, though not perfectly. Again, only scripture does that. I appreciate how the author dealt with man placing self in position of judge over God and the emotion involved in it.

The book is pretty well written. It engages the reader from the start and keeps you engaged. I didn't get bored reading it which I easily do with many books and the vast majority of fiction. If you are a parent of young children, the emotion and description of the abduction is heart wrenching. Honestly, I almost stopped reading it during that portion because it was hitting close to home.

I'm glad I read the book. One thing that always irks me is when people are against something based on what someone else says. I heard many say negative things about the book and they had never read it or done any real research on it. They heard a sermon or read a blog by a person, who didn't necessarily read it either, and then made their judgment based on that. I also know of people warning others not to read it and turning it into an issue of spiritual warfare. WHAT? is all I will say to that.

If you like fiction or are curious, pick up a copy and check it out. If you know someone dealing with a tragic loss, this is something to consider as a conversation piece with them.

We just need to remember, this is not scripture and does not claim to be.

I'm sure there are some that have very strong feelings about this. You are free to comment. Just remember, it's my blog, and I'm free to moderate. :-)

Sunday Unwind

I never get tired and never want to get used to the move of God. I love being amazed by what He does. I love the adventure and excitement of anticipating what He is going to do. Today was no exception.

We started the morning in a new way. We are going to have someone in the sanctuary reading scripture before service beginning at 9 am. Don't know how long this will last, but I like the idea.

Worship was powerful. The congregation was definitely engaged.

The skit announcing the upcoming karate classes was hilarious!

We continued our series "HiStory" today looking at how radical Jesus really was. Actually, He still is! After I started the message this morning, I felt led to change directions slightly, so I went with it. Trusting God in that way is always a little unnerving, but when it is Him, it always ends well. He was definitely speaking to hearts today. The response was dramatic as people answered what the Holy Spirit was saying to them. One more week in this series: and it is Easter on top of that! Next week is going to be incredible!

Our Easter Egg Hunt is Saturday at 11 am at Winterset Elementary. It's going to be a blast. We have over 4000 eggs ready to go now and will have 5000 by Saturday.

Let me tell you that some absolutely amazing things are ahead. What God is speaking in my heart and where I see Him taking us is far above and beyond what is or has been. Fasten your seatbelts and hang on. :-)

My Response

I shared this thought in staff meeting this week, and it has been hanging in me for the last couple of days.

In the Message, Ephesians 3:14 says, "My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth."

Paul was addressing being in jail for proclaiming the Gospel. While, I could say much about the faith and dedication and attitude of Paul, this is striking me a different way right now.

The obvious is to ask the question, "What is my response to the trials of life?" Let's take it one farther, "What is my response to life?" How do we respond to the good, the bad, and the indifferent of daily existence? How much better and more effective would our lives be if this was ALWAYS our response?

Way too often we pray as an afterthought. We relegate prayer to a compartment of our life. We make communication with God something that is separate and sanitized. Communication with God should be as raw and gritty and normal as that with our spouse or best friend. God is the ONLY One who can do anything about what we face, the highs and the lows. He is the One responsible for giving us life and it is His plan that is before us. Why would we NOT go to Him? He will give us comfort in the pain and hurt and trials of life. He is the One who deserves glory and honor in the triumphs.

I know, not every situation allows for us to physically get on our knees. I know some that are not able to anyway due to limitations of the body. Surely, we each understand that this is a visual for prayer. Nehemiah didn't have time to kneel down and pray when the king addressed him. The Bible tells us he prayed "under [his] breath." Nehemiah 2:4. His first response was to go to God.

Our first response should be to go to God. Period. No caveats, no exceptions, no others, just God!

This is easier when we remember that He "parcels out all heaven and earth."