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I (Heart) My Church

August 18, 2011 in Experience, Family Ministry, I Love My Church, Leadership, Ministry, Mission with Comments Off

IHEARTCHURCHbumper Starting this week, I am sending out a personal email message to the men and woman of our church. Here is a glimpse at this week’s email message:

1) I really do LOVE my CHURCH! I don’t want you to think I’m being corny or clichéd. I get FIRED UP when I think about what God is doing there and what he will do as we seek to follow Him and lift up the name of Jesus to those around us. God created the church to be the vehicle where the Good News of Jesus is SPOKEN ABOUT and DEMONSTRATED to every generation of people. And WE GET TO BE A PART OF THAT TOGETHER!!! What’s not to love about that? I LOVE THIS CHURCH and my prayer is that YOU LOVE THIS CHURCH TOO!

2) In an effort to communicate with you about what is happening at here, the plan will be to send out 2 emails each week.

Each week I want to send a letter to you recapping the weekend and casting vision for what is coming up for us. Consider this email a personal letter from me sharing with you what’s on my heart. One of the reasons for this is because I REALLY want to invest some time in being focused on some things that we’re going to be doing this fall. It is my prayer that this coming season will be one of THE most fruitful seasons of ministry we’ve EVER had!

The other email will be a newsletter and will include announcements, prayer requests, and event information. You should have received this email already this week. Think of that email as an extension of our Sunday bulletin.

The whole point of this is not to flood your inbox with a ton of information but we want to make sure we are COMMUNICATING with you on a regular basis. These two weekly email, I believe, will help us do just that.

3) This Sunday, we will continue the “I (Heart) Church” series. We will be talking about what real biblical COMMUNITY looks like and I don’t want you to miss it! In preparation for this Sunday’s message, take some time to read through some of Jesus’ words concerning his church…

Matthew 5:13-16
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 16:15-19
Matthew 18:19-20
Matthew 22:36-40
Matthew 25: 34-40
Matthew 28:18-20

4) School starts back next week and I want to challenge you to be praying for our STUDENTS and for our TEACHERS. The pressure on our students can be pretty overwhelming for them- the pressure to perform and excel can leave them believing that their IDENTITY is wrapped up in WHAT THEY DO not WHO THEY ARE IN CHRIST. I want everyone in our church to PRAY that God will COVER these students with his blessings this school year, that He will STRENGTHEN them to stand tall in their FAITH, and He will PROTECT them from a culture that wants to destroy them.

I also want all of you to PRAY FOR OUR TEACHERS. As the school year begins, many people of Lakeside will be in the classroom or on the field GUIDING and LEADING students. They are on the FRONT LINE of helping to lead the next generation. They need your prayers for ENCOURAGEMENT, STRENGTH, and PASSION. Please pray for the teachers at Lakeside AND I want to challenge you to daily PRAY FOR YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER BY NAME for the entire school year!

5) I am so proud of those of you who have been reaching out and serving the residents of the retirement community next door. I heard that the Bible study last night was a PACKED HOUSE! The time spent loving on and caring for our neighbors has not gone unnoticed. I appreciate your desire and heart for service! Many thanks Ladies!!! Keep up the great work!

Top 5 Opportunities YOU Have TODAY

March 8, 2010 in Discipleship, Experience, Family Ministry, Leadership, Ministry, Top 5 Things with Comments Off

On the ride in this morning, I was listening to January’s Catalyst Podcast interview with Seth Godin. Seth was discussing his latest book, Linchpin, and said something that caught me ear and captured my imagination.

In the middle (your day to day work activities), people say, “Uh, it’s just my job.” They are grumbling about the way they were treated, they’re not getting paid enough, they don’t like their customers, they don’t like their parishioners. “Uh, this is stupid. Blah, blah, blah.”

OR…

You say, “This is my platform. This is the one and only chance I get to do today. What am I going to do with this platform? This opportunity?”

So, today is YOUR day.  You have 24 hours to impact today and today alone. What are you going to do with today?

These are the TOP 5 OPPORTUNITIES YOU HAVE TODAY:

  1. Worship: You have an opportunity to worship God and to live for Jesus Christ today. Take a moment (this moment) to stop and pray, think and honor, worship and praise the God who created the entire world and who knows you inside and out. Right now, I have been living inside the powerful and profound Revelation Song. The lyrics quote the song of the living beings in Revelation 4 & 5: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty- who was and is and is to come.” You have an opportunity to WORSHIP today through the work that you do and through person who are. How will you worship in the midst of your day to day?
  2. Lead: I’ve been thinking a lot about the leadership legacy I want to leave. A legacy comes from developing other leaders to take your place. I once heard that the goal of leadership is to work yourself out of a job. Today you have an opportunity to LEAD. Who are you leading today?
  3. Learn: We live in an incredible time where information is readily available and often free to access. Leaders are learners. Are you learning today? What lessons are being offered to yu today through books, podcasts, conversations? You have the opportunity to LEARN today. Are you taking advantage of the lessons around you?
  4. Serve: Imagine how your day would go if you approached every email you wrote, class you prepared for, phone call you made, text you sent, and every conversation and activity by asking, “How will this serve this person?” of “How does this best serve these people?” You have an opportunity to SERVE today. Do you have the attitude of Jesus (Matthew 20:28; Philippians 2:5-11) when it comes to serving those in your care?
  5. Connect: I have a list of 10 connections that I try to make each and everyday. I got the list from the book 99 Thoughts for Youth Workers by Josh Griffin. Making connections is what life and ministry is all about. Each day I try to take time to connect with God, my family, a student, a friend, and my philosophy. You have the OPPORTUNITY to connect today. How are you doing making connection with God and with others? What are some other important people or things you need to make connections with today?

You have all sorts of opportunities today. Make the most of these opportunities. Worship for today. Lead for today. Learn for today. Serve for today. Connect for today.

Halloween Orange

October 30, 2009 in Discipleship, Ethos, Faith in Action, Family Friday, Family Ministry, Leadership, Ministry, Orange, Prayer, Resources, Worship, Wrestling With Scripture, Youth Ministry with 1 Comment

I’ve been working my way through Reggie Joiner’s Think Orange this semester in an effort to help me connect better with the whole family. As a youth minister I work with families but too often I have gotten the feeling that at times I am working exclusively with teens and at other times I’m focused on parents. My desire is to minister to the whole family and so I’ve been seeking out resources to help me do this.

Think Orange has been invaluable because Reggie’s heart families mirrors my own. “Orange” is the idea of “two entities partnering together to make a greater impact or to create a better solution.” To Reggie, the church is ” a bright yellow” light that exists to illuminate Jesus. The family is a bright “red” heart that demonstrates God’s love and character through unconditional relationship. Together these two forces combine to create Orange. What a beautiful picture and a perfect metaphor for authentic family ministry. The book has been great and I am excited to share some of this with those I minister to but, in the Spirit of Orange, I’ve really been thinking about Halloween this week.

Something Reggie wrote about this family-focused holiday (yes, I just called Halloween family-focused) has been on the forefront of my mind all week. Here is what he said:

- An estimated 47 percent of household consumers decorate for Halloween.
- Halloween is second only to Christmas in the volume of decorations sold
- Over 790 million pounds of jack-o’-lanterns and pumpkin pies will be bought
- Candy sales will exceed $2 billion.
- More than 93 percent of children go trick-or-treating every year. (I wonder how many of those families go to your church?)

Most families love Halloween. Right or wrong, there is something about October 31 that stirs the imagination of children and engages the hearts of parents.

Watch your neighborhood closely this fall.
Listen to the laughter.
Take a look at the generosity.
Taste the sugar.
Feel the energy.
See the glow in the children’s eyes.
Notice the parents walking with their kids.
And observe how families connect with other families.
It seems kind of… magical.

Why can’t the church be more like that? Why can’t the church create the kind of atmosphere for the family that captures their imagination and incites a relational revival in the home?

No color commentary from me on this today. It is just a question that I’m pondering right now.

How can the church create the kind of atmosphere for the family that captures their imagination and incites a relational revival in the home?

I believe that somewhere inside the answer to this question lies the secret to a dozen generations boldly proclaiming- in word, in deed, in heart, in mind, in power, and in strength- the Glory of Jesus Christ. So, there’s your challenge. It’s not just for this weekend but for the rest of your lives.

Have a Happy Halloween. Keep your eyes and your hearts open as you look for the answers to impact future generations.

How can the church create the kind of atmosphere for the family that captures their imagination and incites a relational revival in the home?