The Secret to Success… Revealed!

When I was in Jr. High I began to realize that I was not successful…and began my quest to become successful.  Fortunately, I noticed a new movie coming out called, The Secret of My Success and made plans to attend!  I don’t remember much about it now, except that Michael J. Fox was in it AND one of my favorite bands at the time, Night Ranger (don’t judge me) said the title song.  Basically it was a big let down…to quote the title song, “The secret to my success…Is I’m living 25 hours a day…”

So all these years later…what have I found to be the real Secret to Success?  I’ll get to that later…  What I have discovered recently is that EVERYONE is asking that question…especially regarding their spiritual life!  My men’s group, BSF, the Journey women’s group, our recent Storyline series (viewable online at www.journeychurch.tv, and even our newcomers class!!!  How do I find & live into God’s BIG PLAN for my life???

As a church we are answering part of the question in the upcoming All In Launch Events.  For Journey Group members we’ve got 3 times next week, Sunday (Nov 8th), Tuesday (Nov 10th), or Wednesday (Nov 11th)…all at the Loft at 7pm.  For everyone else, we have a few Town Hall Meetings on Sunday (Nov 15th) or Wednesday (Nov 18th) at the North Campus at 7pm.

Please make plans to attend one of these events to find out God’s BIG PLANS for Journey Church these next 2 years, and how YOU can be a part of God revealing the secret to success for church!

OK, back to my answer… The secret to success is simply living each day pursuing God & His revealed plans for you (in the Bible) until you look back and see what His BIG PLAN for you was.

Sleep Deprivation is Serious!

So, most of you know that I’ve recently become a dad…for the fourth time.  As you can imagine things are pretty different when you have your fourth vs. your first and one of those was the paternal stress level.  Alison had a great natural birth, Hannah came out wonderfully, and we served our proverbial 24 hours in the hospital just to make the hospital happy.

OK… so I got a  blissful night’s sleep in the hospital (jk) (especially after being up all night the previous night with labor stuff) and I felt really good leaving the hospital with my lovely wife and our 24 hour old kid at 10am…

And of course, we headed first to get some Starbucks coffee.  (the hospital had coffee actually IN a Starbucks cup, but it was terrible.)  I went in and ordered Alison’s normal decaf and, instead of my normal decaf, I ordered a 1/2 caff for myself for a little jolt on this special morning.  I get in the car, drive out of the parking lot, and head down a little hill as I prepare to get onto the main street when I realize I don’t have my coffee!

Amazingly, my coffee is still sitting on the top of my car where I left it!  Alison asks me if she should drive or if I need to go back and get an extra espresso shot or something…

The moral of the story???   God laughs at me all the time I am sure and always have people bring you good coffee in the hospital before you hit the road with your newborn!

Men’s Fraternity at Journey Church

So we started year #3 of Men’s Fraternity this morning…which means 2 things.

#1 – I’m ready for lunch and it’s only 9:00am  (alarm went off at 4:20)

#2 – It happened again.  The ‘life transformation’ that we talk about in church, in groups, in personal relationships actually shows up at 6:00am among a big group of guys that somehow feel empowered to challenge, encourage, & joke with other guys in a way that is unbelievable.  Not in a bad way, but in a way that is ‘real’ amidst our normal culture of christian fakeness.

I hope you have an opportunity to be unbelievably real with a friend or two this week.  Not only is this displaying the honest interactions described in the Bible as the ‘one anothers’…(love one another, pray for one another, encourage one another, etc…) BUT it is actually a lot easier way to live life…just be real.

Get in a Small Group or Die

Sounds abrupt, but according to an article today at Prevention.com you will live 4-8 years longer if you have some really good friends…and of course you’ll meet a number of new people in groups and some may even become lifelong friends.  Here’s the quote

“Good interpersonal relationships act as a buffer against stress,” says Micah Sadigh, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Cedar Crest College. Knowing you have people who support you keeps you healthy, mentally and physically: Chronic stress weakens the immune system and ages cells faster, ultimately shortening life span by 4 to 8 years, according to one study. Not just any person will do, however. “You need friends you can talk to without being judged or criticized,” says Sadigh.

So…this Fall is the time (This Sunday specifically at www.journeygroups.tv) to DIVE INTO A GROUP!

Cub Scout popcorn & God

My son, Andrew, is pretty cool.  (Not because of me for sure…)  Being the first born he has always tried to do his best to meet our expectations…even when they are unreasonable.  Case in point, we had just gotten back from a cub scout meeting last week where they went over the finer points of selling popcorn.  (girl scouts = cookies; cub scouts = popcorn)

Anyway, we practiced on the way home and were ready for our first victim… (er…customer) mom.  So he walks in and rambles some about popcorn and holds the brochure casually behind his back, doesn’t look at her or really even talk to her…and then turns to me as if to ask…”Is that good enough…can I go play now?”

I was angry.  It was like we hadn’t even practiced!  Like he didn’t even care about popcorn!!! (imagine that!)  Then God says to me, ‘Andrew’s sales job is a lot like his old man’s conversations with God recently…rambling on, beating around the bush, appeasing expectations, but not really ASKING for anything.’  Matthew 7:7 says it clearly, ‘Ask – it will be given, Seek – you’ll find, Knock – doors open.’

How are you at making the big ask to God?  Or are you like me and do things on your own, or just ‘kind of’ obey…till life implodes and we come back to God?  Ask, Seek, Knock… to quote Rev. D. Ray Montgomery…”it’s like Christian magic… we say some words, and stuff happens!”

Hearing God

Our Senior Pastor is doing a series right now called “DIALOGUE” and it has been incredible to hear from people who have had some misconceptions of prayer understand that prayer is not a monologue.  You can hear the talks at www.JourneyChurch.tv and even download the small group discussion guides at www.JourneyGroups.TV.

Dialogue: Prayer is not a Monologue

In my own prayer time I have been troubled by the reality that so few christians live in conversation with God regarding their normal life, or more personally, that I don’t spend time conversing with God.  Sometimes it’s because I don’t think my request is worthy of His help…”I got this one..save yourself for my next BIG request.”  Or maybe because I think that because he’s gifted me with a brain that I should use it.  That sounds nice and makes sense for choosing my socks in the morning or other small decisions, but God desires a relationship with us…not just our todo list. Leaving Him out of our daily lives, but wanting His help on the big stuff is life is like not talking to your spouse all month long and then expecting an amazing date night with all your dreams fulfilled (not going to happen…).

…”Until now you have asked for nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.”-John 16:24  He WANTS US TO ASK and wants our joy to be filled to the brim through Him.

“The Lord awakens me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple (student/ learner)…” – Isaiah 50:4

ASK & LISTEN TODAY!  And feel free to share any amazing stories as well!

Thoughts on a Friday night

Considering the reasonableness of not meeting expectations with my blog. I really enjoy writing & assume you enjoy reading (at least Adam Barnett reads it)…Alas, Adam you may be alone in my readership.
However, I must apologize for my delay in writing…there is no excuse. BUT if I told you I’d been abducted by aliens since my last post and that the clone put here on Earth in my place did not realize he was suppose to be blogging for me also sounds believable to you then so be it…

Here are some things that have occupied my time and thoughts since my last blog….

* Wife is having baby #4 in about 6-8 more weeks.
* 3rd trip to HHH is 8/29 and I’ve been biking like a madman this summer.
* My cohort in small group ministry left in July.
* Other staffing changes have changed my role more than expected and more to come.
* Did I mention that I’ve been biking a lot recently?
* My unread email is up to 150 now.
* The grass in my backyard was at 1ft tall until last week.

So, hopefully you’ve lived differently than I have this summer. I’m ready for the Fall and look forward to sharing more of my journey along the way.

Rebuilding the Walls – part 3

One of my favorite animated movies is the Incredibles, and a great line of it was when the head superhero guy, Bob, said, “Sometimes I wish the world would just stay saved!”  My wife would echo that comment with one of her own…”Sometimes I wish the house/kids would just stay cleaned up!”

Managing a completed project takes a whole different skill set than initiating a project, and Nehemiah shows some real keys to maintaining the now completed walls of Jerusalem.

Appoint key leaders – 7:2 – Hanani was put in charge, “because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.”

A game plan was created – (actually it was rediscovered) – 8:1-3 – Ezra the priest brought out the Book of the Law and read it to the people, and they listened attentively.

Restoration usually involves eating crow (there’s usually a reason that the walls were broken down…usually related to our mistakes) ; 9:32-38 – a)humble themselves, b) acknowledge God’s justice, c) willingly start over, d) commit to refocused pursuit of God with a reminder (alter, covenant, agreement, etc…)

Trust God to preserve what we create while pursuing Him; 13:14 – “remember me for this…and do not blot out what I  have so faithfully done for the house of my God…”

What restorations have you completed recently or are you working on now?  Guard yourself at completion to not settle for a great wall.  Take steps to insure it will last by appointing some good management, create a plan, deal with the root issues, and trust.  Praying for your walls to stand firm today!

Rebuilding the walls- Part 2

So, what’s it like having me call you out on my little blog here…saying you’ve got some broken down areas of your life?  Don’t worry…I’m right there with you.

What I hate about broken down walls is that it means there were once solid walls there…and now, because of neglect or destruction, they’re in some state of disrepair.  Oh and the gates being ‘burned’ seems pretty intentional to me.

So, my mental picture is the areas of my life that were once solid that are now in need of some repairs…like the good habits in my life – i.e. nutrition, exercise, spiritual disciplines, rest.  Plus I’ve got some areas that I have just torched…or allowed my friends, family, or foes to torch…like my schedule, or margin, or commitments to personal development.

The story continues in Nehemiah 3 & 4… So the guys get to work repairing the walls and rebuilding the gates and it’s pretty smooth at first.  Lots of volunteers, minimal foe intervention, and peole are cool putting their personal agendas on hold for the greater good.  But of course the foes show up…first by ridicule (“even if a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall!” and then they plotted an attack, so Nehemiah had to cross train the workers in building & soldiering.  Here’s some insights that I had…

3:14 – Malkijah is the man!  He got to repair the Dung Gate!  What a crappy job!

3:20 – Baruch apparently was a real type A kind of guy… Everyone else is working hard & steady…It says that he “zealously repaired” the wall.  Non-union job I guess!

3:30 – Hanun was pretty desperate for notoriety…everyone else just uses their name, or dad’s name, but he’s the “sixth son of Zalaph”.  Either he’s five generations away from anyone famous, or he has 5 slacker brothers that weren’t helping with the wall.

4:12 – I’m sure you have those people that are really worried about the possibilities that stall out the current progress just because of what ‘could’ happen.  These guys were really wearing out Nehemiah so he said, “they came and told us ten times, ‘Wherever you turn they will attack us!’   Like my wife some times… “I’ve told you ten times to pick up milk on your way home!!!”

4:20 – Trumpets Rock! – They were so spread out that he told everyone to gather together wherever the trumpet is sounded and God will fight for us.  Isn’t it interesting that they see the need, call in the troops, and then trust God to show up and fight for them???  If only I was that smart.

So, how’s the lineup going for rebuilders of your walls?  Are you zealously working or just wearing out your boss?  Do you call in the cavalry when you need them and then do you expect God to show up and fight for you?

I’ll be praying for your holy preparation & expectation…until part 3

Rebuilding the Wall; part 1

I was reading today in Nehemiah 1&2 about how he (Nehemiah) heard from his brother that the walls of Jerusalem (the homeland of Israel) was in ruins and the people still there were in trouble & disgrace.  He was SO burdened by this news that he ’sat down, cried, went without food, mourned & prayed to God about the issue.’  He confesses the sins of his people, reminded God about His promise to give that land to the people of Israel.

With that in mind, he set to work to do something about it.  He asked for safe passage clearance from the king and the resources to rebuild the walls and the King granted it, PLUS gave Nehemiah an army to keep him safe.    Which is incredible since he was only the cupbearer for the King!  (that’s right…the trusted taste-tester)

Here’s what gets me in this story… God’s talking to me about how we sometimes live for a long time with broken down walls or gates and just deal with it.  We have never asked…

What role we’ve played in the broken down areas?

How did the breakdown happen?

Who may be involved in helping us restore them?