Connexion

Evan Almighty ...what would you do?

The Office meets the animals two by two...

Beyond the Chocolate Bunny to "My Sweet Lord"

USAtoday.com has a rather thought provoking article today. The headline "may" say it all: NYC chocolate Jesus angers Catholics. Food sculptor, Cosimo Cavallaro, created a six-foot Jesus out of 200 pounds of milk chocolate. It's debut during holy week is supposedly "coincidence." (Yeah right)

Honestly, my first thought is that it's better than a chocolate bunny... How many of those little guys will be consumed on Easter with no representation of Christ at all? Maybe that's what the artist wanted us to think about? I had another thought... It would definitely make for a fun communion: "This is my body broken for you" Do we serve milk instead of wine/juice?

God, the progressive one, and us his weak kneed followers

This Sunday I am sharing the vision of a new church to our whole congregation. It's a pretty big deal, and I have been prepping, praying, and getting ready all week. Today God said, "Relax" in a huge way!!

One of my guys, a 79 year old youngster, stopped by to see me today. He brought me a document that he saved from 2001. It was an article that the "interim" Pastor at the time, Don Warden, had written. It reads almost word for word like the sermon that I wrote today to give Sunday. I literally could use his article and pray and be done.

...now think about it for a second. God started the ball rolling on the new church here in 2001. I was the pastor that followed Don Warden in 2003, but here's what's cool - Don never ever mentioned this idea to me. It's now 2007, and Sunday, I make Don's vision - his prophesy - come true...

We think we understand what God's sovereignty is all about, but we really don't have a clue! God is a big God. He's so good to us...and he knows well in advance what we are going to face!! So when will we stop trying to drive and allow him to lead??

Half Day Launch Conference

We are back from Dallas. I am still processing all that I heard. It was a great half day and worth the sleep deprivation and hurried/harried travel. I enjoyed getting to hear and meet Nelson and Kerrick. They are really sharp guys! They also seem to do "team" better than most, which encourages me and gives me hope. It was fun watching them interact and present "together." Lakepointe Church and Steve Stroope were very gracious hosts. They are doing a lot of things right, and Steve is a strong, Godly leader that does not get enough press...

Here are some "take-away" thoughts:

1. Focus on the unchurched. It seems obvious, but I am learning that "we who are churched and saved" have a hard time forgetting that it's not about us! I enjoyed the reminder about going from Crowd to Core...and what that really means. For me personally, it means that I need to get busy meeting, inviting, and getting to know unchurched people. "I came to seek and save those who were lost...I did not come for the well, but the sick!" - Jesus


2. We need to start in May. To "launch" in September, we need to start our first monthly service in May. How cool is that!! ...and how scary too. We had been looking at June, but May is now the goal.


3. God's dream for my church is bigger than my dream for my church. At one point, Searcy bashed the concept of "re-planting." (it stung a bit!) He was replying to a question of "should we take a church building? ...if a dying church gives it to you, or wants to merge, should you?" At first glance, that sounds kinda like us - but it's not... He was saying that in most communities the church is dying for a reason, so a new church, in essence, ties a huge anchor around herself by combining with the old. But that's not our situation...
   
   • We are going to do "new church" even though we are meeting in the old. There will be a distinct, separate, unique identity.
   • We are not trying to reach the same people that Crestview has... We are going to try to reach the new, younger, urban folks that now live in over half the homes.
   • This is God's dream. I think He knows what he's doing.


4. Launch date, September 9th, 2007
   • Four monthly services beginning in May
   • 3-4 comeback events to build momentum and build a launch team


5. I was challenged to develop an alliance of partners. Who could partner with me to launch this church? State level, Association level, ...and what about individual churches. It's time to put the vision on paper and start getting partners.

Launching a new church without any Sleep

Sleep is highly overrated. That's what I finally decided at 3:30am this morning. I got some sleep, but I woke up with my brain stuck in overdrive and it wouldn't shut down - so I just gave up...

The guys and I are driving up to Dallas today. We are attending the half day "Launch Conference" with Nelson Searcy at Lakepointe. I am hoping we come back with some great ideas and some combustible passion... A plan wouldn't hurt either!

If you are a church planter in the Austin area, email me sometime. The GreenHouse Network, the Austin Baptist Association and myself (I don't have a cool name yet) are going to host a Church Planter Gathering soon... More details to follow.

I said "goodbye" via cell phone on speaker phone to my Grandmother last night. The doctors are saying she has maybe 24 hours. I really wish I could have just kissed her on the forehead and said I love you...

Wednesday Mind Dump

• Where is the line between "Open to Change" and "Resistant to Change?" RG4N and Walmart are still at it... Walmart has "listened" and proposed making store changes, while RG4N is shouting that Walmart isn't listening at all. It makes for a great case study on change. Read the latest Chronicle story here.

• Really having fun talking to James at the Branding Shed. We may be twins separated at birth.

• We are really getting excited about Exponential: The 2007 National New Church Conference. Not looking forward to the drive though...

• Caleb has a baseball game tonight. I am skipping prayer and Bible Study that I normally lead. It's so cool to have a church that sees the value in family!!

• Been working a little on getting our Connexion Community Center Blog up and running. Things are very, very good on the coffeeshop and gallery front. We have live music - cool live music - and artists fighting each other to get on the walls...

• My grandmother is dying. I found out yesterday morning she had a massive stroke. She's 95 and always been so healthy. We knew this day would come, but now that it's here, it's really confusing. I really can't go hang out... Bummer.

• I saw David Taylor from Hope Chapel yesterday - he is so cool. When I grow up I wanna be as cool as him... He has this whole bush growing on his face - very cool...

• I got the chance to listen to Neil Cole live and in person yesterday. His "Theology of Death" discussion rocked my little world. Can't wait to read his book...

Xtreme Youth Connexion

We are launching a new youth "experience" tonight @ 7pm. I'm really excited with all that Keith has going on. I am super happy with how it's all going and it's really fun to watch from a distance as a happy "spiritual" father... He was worried about the band and last week three youth came up and said, "Sign us up!" He had me design a logo ...what do all you peeps out there think?

25 (twenty five) and 300 (Three Hundred)

They are just numbers: 25 and 300. But to me, they represent a target on a wall - a goal - a step of faith - a big dream - my new reality...

• 25 is the number of contacts I need to meet in my community before I truly understand my target. That number came in the form of a challenge from the "Baptist Buddha", Glenn Smith. Glenn runs a church planter resource organization called New Church Initiatives. I call him the Baptist Buddha because I just want to rub his belly and find his wisdom... He says I need to know 25 people in my target, before I even think I know anything.

• 300 is the number I want to see at our launch in September. Is that possible? Well, I heard my first "no" today. My answer; I just quoted my Chinese proverb: Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt the person doing it. ...Is 300 realistic? Give me one good reason why its not?

The Branding Shed

I got to talk to James Dalman today from the branding shed. He's my kind of guy - a crazy church planter with great ideas, big dreams, and God on his side (which really helps, cause often no one else is!) Other than being an Okie, he seems like he's legit. We hit it off way too well over the phone. I'm hoping to work with him as we develop our identity!! If you are looking for quality, check him out...

The Human Wrecking Ball

I had breakfast this morning with Austin's own, Rick Reynolds. Rick started a ministry called affairrecovery.com. I heard him speak at the Pastor's prayer summit and immediately I knew, I like this guy a lot! He has such a bold vision and calling. He wants to help 50,000 couples save their marriages a year - and I think he's on track to achieve that goal! He and I had a great talk, and here is some of what he said...

"I am a human wrecking ball. If God isn't in charge, I will wreck everything and everyone in my life."

"...I got into this mess doing 'my best.' Imagine how much trouble I could have got into if I had tried to be bad...I finally realized that if this is my best, then my best is not good enough. Only through grace, can I really find life..."

"Walk in the light. Life comes from walking in the light. The secrets we keep, keep us in the darkness, and nothing good comes from trying to hide in darkness. God brings all things into the light..."

Check out his website. Read his story. ...and thank you Lord for guys like Rick, who remind us all that we amount to nothing if we depend on our own strength...