Uncomfortable

Yesterday I had a great talk with a college regarding the comfort levels of Christ-followers. We talked about all of the folks we know who are throwing stones from the sidelines because by their own admission, they are “not” comfortable getting in the game. They don’t serve during weekend services because they are not comfortable with the responsibility of leading. They don’t come out to feed the hungry because they are not comfortable in “that” part of town. They don’t share Christ or even invite someone into community because they are not comfortable talking to strangers or opening up their lives.

Here is what Jesus says about our comfort (Luke 14):

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.”

“…anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

“…any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

The Carlo Serrano International Version interprets those verse like this:

“Screw your comfort. YOU follow me.”

For me, this means there will be more uncomfortable conversations in my future. More stretching. More conflict. However, it also means I’ll be right in the middle of God’s will because when I said yes to Jesus, I said no to a life of selfish comfort.

What uncomfortable thing is God asking you to do? Where is He asking you to go?

Screw your comfort. Follow Him.

3 Weeks On/Off

I have a heart for discipleship. Mentoring, teaching, and walking with people step-by-step is in my DNA. Last October, Andy Stanley told me that I was not doing the best job discipling some of our staff. Okay he didn’t JUST tell me, he told 13,000 of us at Catalyst. But still, it FELT like he was talking to me. So, I pitched the idea of our current “Love” series to our teaching team. I have walked them through the process of studying for and preparing messages over the last couple of months and I am so proud of the work that they are putting in. I gave them some pretty strict deadlines for turning in scripture references, outlines, and manuscripts and to a man, they have produced quality work. I love knowing that we don’t have to bring in someone from outside of Xtreme in order to hear a great message (even though we do occasionally bring someone in).

Counting yesterday, I’ll be taking Sundays off when it comes to preaching at Xtreme (I’ll still be present on Sundays ). However, my three weeks off will be three weeks ON for the rest of our teaching team and three weeks of studying for me as I prepare for a busy March and April.

Life Together

One of our core values at Xtreme is that “We desire to be a people who do life together”. We don’t want to be a group that gathers on Sunday or Wednesday and then disconnects for the rest of the week. I believe that real growth happens as we walk side by side. Our lives are changed when we allow the Holy Spirit to sharpen and mold us via our relationships with others. One thing I’m loving about our building project is how growth and discipleship is happening right under our noses! I’m convinced that every ounce of sweat, every drop of paint, and every argument has just helped us grow tighter as a family. There have been some deep (and shallow) conversations that would never have taken place had we not been side by side working towards a common goal. Life is so much better when we live it together!

Like Watching Paint Dry

Sometimes you have to look very hard to see progress. This morning one of our guys looked inside our new building and said “Man!, I’m getting excited.” It had been a couple of weeks since he had been in there and all He saw was progress. I looked around and thought “Man! This is all we’ve done!”. Seriously, I know we’ve made progress, but sometimes it’s a grind.

Sounds just like ministry. There are people in our lives who are growing and making huge steps forward. The problem is we chose to focus on where we want them to be instead of the fact that they are no longer where they used to be. When you are in the business of helping people you can’t expect instant results. That’s not the point. Progress is happening. The Holy Spirit is working inside of them. They are growing. It may feel like watching paint dry but trust me…they’ll look so much better in the end.

There Goes My Hero

I thought I would give a shout out to some of my ministry heroes. Listen, I know that Christ is the example that we should follow. Believe me I do. That’s why these men inspire me. I see Christ in them and in their work.

Chilly Chilton – The work he does in Detroit inspires me keep it real.

Aaron Allison – A 1 hour conversation with him quite literally kept me from quitting pastoral ministry. Such a great guy.

Terry Allen – One of the hardest working men I know. I’ll never forget when he called me out for being lazy…because I asked someone to get out of my chair instead of just sitting somewhere else. I stay on the grind because I’m afraid that Terry is watching ; )

Of course that’s not an all inclusive list. I could go on and on. The moral of the story is this: stay faithful to your calling and be authentic. You never know who you are influencing.

NMLB 3

Here are the final thoughts from this weekends workshop/conference:

1. More information does not lead to life change. Men don’t need it more in their heads…they need it in their hearts.

2. “Happiness is the motivation of every man…even if he hangs himself”. –  Pascal

3. Being a Christ follower is about more then just being “nice”.

4. If we focus on values instead of do’s and don’ts we’ll see change in the lives of people.

5. Ideas are more powerful then labor.

6. If we can trust 18-25 years olds to make life or death decisions on behalf of our nation in the military…why do we treat them like kids in our churches?

7. Conventional wisdom says you need to light a fire under people to get them to lead. What you really need to do is find people who are already on fire and pour gasoline on them!

I’m stoked about what’s next!

NMLB Day 2

Here are some thoughts that grabbed me today at the conference:

1. The height of your ministry will be determined by the depth of your leadership team.

2. An all-inclusive ministry system to men maximizes the Kingdom potential of every interaction our church has with every man.

3. The size of my ministry to young adults is equal to the number of young adults in my church. That’s “how many I’m running.”

4. Give people what they need in the context of what they want.

5. Christianity is not about behavior modification, it’s about heart transformation!

No Man Left Behind

So I’m spending the weekend at a great conference for pastors and leaders. It’s put on by Man in the Mirror Ministries (sorry no affiliation with MJ). The concept is this:

To get the world right we have to get the church right.

To get the church right we have to get families right.

To get families right we have to marriages right.

To get marriages right we have to get men right.

Reach a man…reach the world. It’s that simple. We are being challenged with this thought:

“Your system is perfectly designed to produce the results you are getting.” The same holds true for your church: “Your discipleship program is perfectly designed to produce the kind of men you have sitting there.”

I’m viewing the conference/workshop through the lens of Single Adult/Young Adult ministry. I’m attending with our senior pastor, our men’s director, and another good pastor friend. I can’t wait to start applying what we learn! I’ll post more thoughts later.

Carpe Carlo

I was doing some sermon prep and got to thinking of all the people in my life that have seized the opportunity to help me. I’m so thankful for selfless men who looked beyond the surface and took the risk of investing in me. I wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t “seized the day”. Here are just a couple:

John Harwell – my youth pastor who loved me even when he had to send me home form a lock in, even when I got caught making out on the way back from fine arts, even when I was a bad influence! He saw something in me that no one else did. He gave me the opportunity to lead and I wouldn’t be in ministry if he would have missed the chance to minister to me.

Dan Place – he talked to me. Even though he was older and was a youth “worker”, he actually cared. He called me to make sure I was doing the right thing. At a revival service in Pensacola he seized the opportunity and invited me to walk down to the altar with him. I might not be living for God is he would have missed the chance to serve me in my time of need.

The bottom line is this: you never know who that person will become. “Make the most out of every opportunity”.

Seize the day. Love when it is inconvenient. Pour yourself into people. It will always be worth it!

Graduation Day – Moving Forward

Congrats MC Clarksville 2008-2009!