Innovate Session 5 Part 1

Innovate Impact — LifeChurch.TV Directional Team

So this session started with a bang..it was amazing worship. For those who are here, God was in that room, singing with us. I could feel the Holy Spirit moving through the room and it was awesome and somewhat overwhelming..what a great way to start the afternoon…

Now here are the key points I took away from this session:

LifeChurch.tv Directional Leadership team

1. An organization is the reflection of its leadership

It is critical for leadership to be self-aware

Self-awareness is the platform that God begins to work with us from

It is only through that self-awareness that God can begin to work with us.

A team environment that allows for that self-awareness is critical

Craig Groeschel has invited the ability to speak into his life. He really wants critique to help him gain perspective.

Take the time to celebrate the win

If there is a character trait in the leader then it may show up in his organization

Do anything short of sin to reach others for Christ

Have some tools that you can use to take character to something more personal
You have to understand your personality and that of those around you

Come to a place of understanding so that the skills that attract, don’t begin to attack

Your development process begins with the hiring process

It is much harder for smaller, newer churches to stay on course because more people feel they have the ability to speak into what is going on

Trust God to keep you on track to your vision

2. Willingness to “get naked”

True self awareness only comes from looking at things from outside the picture

You have to be willing to be vulnerable

Education can become alienation

-if everyone does not have the same information, it can cause dissention

-when pieces are missing, things just won’t be complete

3. The difference between where you are and where God wants you to be is the pain you’re willing to endure.

Making the changes to go from where you are to where God wants you to be can be very difficult and very painful. You may lose people or have to prune some people in order to do that.

What is the painful decision God is calling us to make that we are putting off because of the pain??

Our capacity as leaders will be found at our ability to endure pain

Innovate Breakout session #2

How can you keep the vision in view when you can’t see it?? — Steven Furtick

I don’t have a lot of notes from this session, but wow, this guy can preach..I think I could sit for hours and listen to him deliver the word of God..check our his blog and his church’s website

Here are a few bits of wisdom he passed on to us:

Vision is spoken to you from the heart of God

When planting a church find someone who will so radically buy in to the vision that God has given you that they will uproot their family an move with you to do the will of God…

Sometimes you can hear the vision, but you can’t see the physical manifestation of it yet

How do you keep that vision in view when you can’t see it??

Life can talk you out of your audacity

You can life long enough to stop believing that all things are possible with God

Many times great things are born out of frustration and mistakes

You have to have the audacity to keep pointing at the cloud when there isn’t one there

Be moved by what we hear and know and not what we see

Put your head between your legs and trust that God is going to do what he says.

We need to honor the leaders that God has called us to serve under

This session and Rob Wegner’s made the trip worthwhile to me. God spoke to my heart today through what Steven had to say. I read Steven’s blog regularly and sometimes he comes across as brash and maybe even arrogant, but what I saw today was a man who has heard from God and don’t let “man” get in the way of that. It was quite inspiring and clearly demonstrates what God can do if you have the audacity to listen to him and to believe that He can do anything…

Innovate Session 4

Missional Moves — Rob Wegner

Rob is such an awesome speaker…it was great to hear him talk today. This was a fantastic talk that we MUST listen to…

Here are some of the notes from this session:

What is the hardest thing for oppressed people of the world to believe about Christianity??

- Is God really good??

Kids are starving, people are dying, people are hurting…

-Where is the Love??

What is God’s plan to make it believable that God is good??

-The local church is the plan

The people of the world need to see the answer to “Where is the Love?” in us!!

The question is no longer how do we get the community in the church, but how do we get the church in the community??

Missional Moves:

1. What is the Gospel that Jesus preached?

• Many Christians will tell you it is how to get out of trouble with God

• Many churches will teach you the minimum requirements to get to Heaven

• But what did Jesus preach??

• Mark 1:14-15

• The Gospel was an announcement from Jesus that the Kingdom of God is near

• Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:35, Luke 8:1, Mark 9:1-2, Luke 10:1, 5-9

• Over 100 times Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God

• The Kingdom of God is the entire framework of Jesus teaching

• Acts 1:3

• What is the kingdom?

o The average Christian will say that the Kingdom of God is Heaven or their Heart

• Neither of those are incorrect, but they are incomplete

o Per Jesus, the Kingdom of God is the place where God’s will is done on earth as it is in Heaven

o Eternal life doesn’t start after we die, it starts right now
o Bringing up there, down here

• What would that look like??

o Every sphere of human concern, feeding the hungry, arts, taking care of the poor…every human need being met…

• We need to shift from a Gospel that is not just about saved souls, but is a Gospel of saved WHOLES

• It is not just about the verbal proclamation of the Gospel…that is only half of it. The other half is the demonstration proclamation of the Gospel.

o The two combined create an undeniable presentation of the Gospel

2. From flashlight to laser focus

• Acts 1:8

• 4 Spheres of influence:

o Local access

o Domestic access

o Cross cultural access

o International access

• The church needs to choose how to focus in each of these areas

• 30ft deep in 3 places than 2 inches deep in 30 areas

• The church has to have a presence, you can’t move in for a few days and then move out.

• Narrowing the focus increased the impact

• Increased shared ownership

3. From professionals to full participation

• The norm has been missions for hire

o We hire people to do our mission work

• In the Bible mission was done by the local church, not by people hired to do it

• We need to unleash our people in the community

• Obstacles

o Fear

o Busyness

• We need to lower these barriers

Missional moves make us dangerous – Darkness trembles!!

I want to make Darkness tremble!!!

If we do this God will reign on earth!!

By doing this we declare that “Our God reigns!!”

Colton’s First Blog…

So I have been super swamped with work, church, taking care of a new baby and studying for my next insurance exam, so I have been Twittering instead of blogging.  So today I am going to have a guest blogger…my newborn son Colton, who is 6 weeks old today.  This day was momentous in a couple of ways, first as I mentioned he is 6 weeks old and he made his first trip to Wal Mart with mommy and daddy today.  He was so moved by the experience that he wanted to share it with the rest of the world…so without further ado, here is Colton…

Thanks Daddy, this is kind of fun..your Macbook is really cool, I know why you spend so much time on it..oh a bird just flew by the window, that is cool..I wish I could chase that..why do they keep me in this chair..ok, so what am I doing with this computer??  Oh, my fun day at Wal-Mart.  I have really been wanting to see this place that daddy says is mommy’s favorite place to be.  It is really cool how she gives him this look everytime he says it.  Daddy says that look could slice through metal..I think that would be awesome..like a superhero, but I don’t ever see any metal getting cut.. ;-(

So here is what I learned today at Wal-Mart:

• Daddy says mommy gets so stressed she needs blood pressure medicine before she goes there. I know when I get stressed, I like to sit in my bouncy seat. I would share with my mommy but I don’t think she would fit.
• Mommy said people in the Wal-Mart parking lot throw their driving skills right out of the window. I thought that throwing things out the window was littering and was bad, but maybe they have recycling bins for the stuff that goes out the window.
• There was lots of stuff at Wal-Mart.  Daddy liked the video game section.  Mommy just left him there to go get things on the list..
• I learned about this stuff called spandex.  Based on what I saw there should be more stringent regulation (that is a big word for a baby isn’t is daddy??) around people who where spandex in public.  Daddy said that just because they sell it, doesn’t mean everyone should be allowed to wear it.
• Oooohhh there is another bird…maybe Stryder will get it for me…what do you think daddy??
• They sell Jeff Gordon strollers at Wal-Mart…daddy said that if I wanted one of those, I couldn’t live in his house.  I like the rainbow colors…he said I could get a Kyle Busch stroller and then we could knock people out of our way, just like he does on Sundays..that sounds cool…
• People in the Wal-Mart parking lot like to try and hit my daddy on his motorcycle..daddy said he feels like the frog in Frogger trying to dodge the cars. I don’t know what Frogger is, but Mrs. Lisa painted a really cool frog in my nursery. I don’t think it looks like daddy, ok, well maybe it does a little bit.
• We went in the speedy line…I thought that meant fast..daddy said it means the line where people go who don’t know their debit card Pin or who try to count out 1,000 pennies instead of $10 bill…I think daddy needed mommy’s blood pressure medicine while he watched that..
• The last thing I learned (and daddy says the most important) is that even though people are frustrating and forget their manners some times and maybe don’t have the same great fashion sense that I do, God loves them and shows them grace. The same grace he shows us.  Daddy says because of that, we should show it to them too..

After Wal-Mart, we went to Toys R Us…now that is a store I like…maybe I will tell you about that later..bye bye..I have to go now..daddy says my diaper is dirty…

 

Playing with light painting

So I was inspired by Jim Henry last night and decided to give this a shot with my camera instead of the video…here are the results and a few photoshops of them. I decided I need some new colors for light, but this wasn’t bad for a first attempt.

I saw and now I believe…

I admit it, I am a doubter…a cynic..I need to see something before I can truly trust and believe. I have always been that way. I don’t know why, but I have been. I would probably be like Thomas and when Christ showed up, I would ask to see the holes in his hands. I wish that wasn’t me, but it is.

But this surely had to be a myth, an old wives tale (in this case a hot, young wives tale ). It couldn’t be true. This was a legend, the things our forefathers talked about but no one has really ever seen… The Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, an honest politician. They are often talked about, but that is just it, it is all talk.

Christine had talked of this, but I scoffed. Just an exaggeration, it really wasn’t possible. I laughed at her. She hasn’t had enough sleep.

But, I am now a believer..this morning at 6 am, I had to change Colton’s diaper. Everything was routine, just a normal early morning change…and then I heard it, the gurgling and churning. Then came a small burst of air..And then it happened…the TURBO POOP…Colton shot a stream of his breast feeding yellow poop across the room. Some of it hit my hand and it felt like I was picked off by a BB gun. There was an innocent spider dangling from the ceiling, picked off and destroyed..and then it hit the Pack N’ Play and splattered…it was on the floor, the sheets and the duvet cover. It was everything she had described and more. Our little boy has the power…i won’t doubt his ability again..

All the while he just looked up and smiled that sheepish little grin…”Look what I can do Daddy”…and then he fell asleep…

What I have learned in 13 days as a dad…

I am trying to get back into blogging. Things have been so hectic, there just hasn’t been time, so I figured I would start with something easy…Top 10 things I have learned in 13 days as a dad:

10. Sleep is over rated. Who needs it. A good frappachino and toothpicks in the eyelids is really all you need.

9. My mother in law is great. She has been here to help, but has given us space when needed and has let us learn how to be parents.

8. Diapers are expensive. Enough said!!

7. We have some incredible friends. We have had people bring us food, paint the nursery, buy diapers, pray for us, and help us in any way we have needed. The people God has brought into our lives are just unbelievable.

6. Colton has more costume changes in a day than Diana Ross does in a concert.

5. A little baby has some serious lungs. Oh my goodness, can this kid scream. We call him teradactyl boy for that screech.

4. You need a PhD to install a car seat.

3. How did parents survive before digital cameras?? If we had to buy film for all the pictures we have taken, we would have run out of diaper money.

2. My wife is more amazing than I thought and I thought she was pretty amazing before we had the baby.

1. If you don’t cover this boy’s junk when changing a diaper, he can shoot a stream of pee about 10 feet over his head. If NASA could harness this kind of propulsion technology, we would not have a problem sending an astronaut to Mars in a couple of hours. Incredible I tell you..just incredible..

Overall, while tiring, these have been two of the best weeks of my life….I thank God continually for giving us the beautiful baby boy!!

It is going to be an interesting two weeks

Starting today, my team at work is participating in a business continuity simulation. The scenario is that the big earthquake hit Bloomington and we are unable to get to our desks to work. Instead of a team of 40 people sitting together and working together, we are now scattered across the building and even across the city. As a manager this is a challenge for me.  This is out of the comfort zone for a lot of people.  l We have to be creative and think out of the box. We as a group have to really utilize the technology that we have been given and keep one of the largest storage infrastructures in the world up and running.  Topping that off for me is the fact that the baby could be coming at any moment, I am in a training class this afternoon and tomorrow and we have KidStuf this week…

It is definitely going to take God to help me juggle all of this…It is going to be interesting…

A song for Colton…

We finished our lamaze classes last night…that means the baby is getting close..probably only about 7 or 8 weeks now. We are both getting very excited…but the fact that he is getting close got me thinking..what am I going to say to this kid??  What do I want him to know (besides Clemson rules ) ??  Am I going to be a good dad??

 Well, as I was driving to work this morning, this song came on my iPod…I think it sums up exactly what I want him to know.  I am not very eloquent so this says it much better than I ever could…it brings a tear to my eye everytime I hear it and think of Colton…

 In case you are wondering, this is a band called Connersvine  they are a great acoustic band. The lead singer is the punter for the Indianapolis Colts. Besides playing football, he is also a worship leader at his church…check them out, the CD is great…

The Moment of Truth

So earlier this week, we were watching TV and The Moment of Truth comes on.  For those who haven’t seen the commercials, this is a show where you go on national tv and have to answer very personal questions in front of the world. The catch is that they have previously hooked you up to a polygraph and determined what the true answers are.  I tell you what, this is like watching two trains from afar heading straight at each other…nothing good can come from it.  All you have to do is answer 21 questions truthfully and you win $500,000.  They start fairly painless and get harder as you go…Sounds pretty easy doesn’ t it??  Hmm, not so fast my friend…they ask personal and embarrasing questions…OH!! and your spouse  and friends have to sit there and watch you answer them.  Example: the first contestant was an ex-NFL player…2nd question (easy one); “When you were playing football, did you look at other guy’s private parts in the shower?”…he did say yes… A little harder question: “if your wife got a flabby stomach would you encourage her to get liposuction?” again he answered yes..now getting a little harder “Have you delayed having children because you don’t believe your wife is your long term partner?”  He was squirming, his wife was definitely uncomfortable…well maybe more than uncomfortable…his answer Yes…and you could see the marriage starting to crumble..his wife wasn’t happy…hey, but that is worth a few bucks right??

 Seriously, has money become so important that you would risk the important stuff to gain it?? Neither of the contestants got past the easy questions, I can’t even begin to understand what the hard ones will be, but my guess is there will be more than a few friendships lost or marriages ruined over this show. Is that really worth $500,000??