Great Find!

If you are a leader you need to seriously considering subscribing to this. I pulled down my first batch of goods a few moments ago. I cannot wait to hit the gym tomorrow while I multi-task with the help of my iPod.

I set the personal goal this year to work through at least 52 books. I will far exceed that with the help of summary.com. For the record, I do plan to read 52 the old fashion way. This will simply allow me to read/learn/grow at a more rapid pace. I love technology!

I will be different at the end of 2007...

Must Read Blog For Church Leaders

This has quickly become one of my favorite blogs. It is well worth adding to your bookmarks or RSS feeder.

I was in a conference with Craig (one the two authors of the blog) in September. He helped me learn a leadership lesson I wished I had learned twelve years ago. He posted some thoughts in that direction yesterday. The leadership axiom is simple, but powerful: People will not go where they are not led. I think my staff is already sick of me repeating those words.

Plug that blog into your browser and read daily. You will not regret it.

Long Overdue

I am long overdue for my monthly two-day run of posts. A great deal of stuff has taken place since my last post. Here's a quick overview:

I celebrated 15 years of marriage. Where did a decade and a half go? I can honestly say that I love Andrea more today than I did 17 years ago when I swept her off her feet [wink].

Journey Church had a tremendous end to the 2006 ministry year. We had our biggest day as a church on Christmas Eve. We had over 200 first-time guest in our two gatherings. We also had at least 7 people make decisions for Christ. It was an incredible day!

I have kept my commitment to get back in shape. I have run right at 70 miles in the past 30 days. I have dropped 12 pounds and feel like a new person. It is amazing how when that area is in check other areas follow suit for me.

We purchased a new piece of ministry "equipment." I am loving the speed and additional screen space of my Macbook Pro 15". It is a huge upgrade for the Power PC Powerbook I have been using the past couple years.

This past Sunday Journey Church celebrated its one year anniversary. It was a truly special moment as we looked back over our shoulder and out into the future. I simply cannot wait to experience all that year two will bring. You might want to take a moment to listen to some of the stories that have been told the past couple weekends. You can listen here. (Listen to "A Beautiful Year" and "Auld Lang Syne").

See you next month...maybe sooner!

Potential Risk To Hearing?

If you are an iPod owner this is worth a few minutes of your time.

In a couple weeks, I will have been married for 15 years. It is been a terrific journey. Andrea allowed me to pull the trigger on some new gear to celebrate. I bought one of these and one of these. I also bought these.

If you are wondering what these products have in common. Watch this.

Long Time...

I did something today that I haven't done in a really really long time. And no, it wasn't blog. (hater)

I went to the gym and worked out. I am on the road to recovery. The mission is simple: restore discipline!

Dreaming...Planning

Our team (staff/elders) is headed out of town for the evening and most of the day on Saturday. The agenda is to define the 2007 win(s) for Journey Church. This will help us plan and prepare for the 2007 ministry year. I'm pumped!

I'll be back late Saturday evening to set up "shop" at the alternative location of Sunday's Gathering. This weekend is the one day out of the year we cannot use LEHS. It won't be ideal, but we are going to make it work. We are going to pack the place!

Dream BIG!

I realized something about myself this week. It was sparked through one brief conversation. The conversation led to some great tension in my mind. The tension led to a couple hours of soul searching. The soul searching led to a realization. It isn't earth shattering, but I certainly needed to see it.

This week I realized I haven't been dreaming big enough. In less than one year, I had crawled into a very safe corner and several others have followed. God visited that corner on Wednesday and I am no longer there.

Be at Journey Church on Sunday to hear more. Hint: Christmas is only six weeks away!

My apologies for the lack of action here last week. I was in Columbus and Akron most of the week for some training of a new coaching role I have been asked to assume around the state for my tribe. I am very honored to have been asked. I love the Church. I am pumped to be in a role that will allow me to more directly impact change in the Church. It will be interesting to see how God uses the newly assembled team.

I raced home Friday evening to be surprised by the empty trees standing around my house. The leaves seem to have fallen faster and with greater force this year. This reality left with a huge task on Saturday. I am proud to announce that I have almost won the battle! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Journey had a great day yesterday. I continue to stand in awe of what God has and is doing. It is beyond fun!

The calendar is very full this week. I am going to lay low today to prep for the coming week.

Block Party Tonight!

Final preparations are being made for the big block party tonight. Journey Church will be in full force this evening in a neighborhood near the high school where we meet on the Sundays. Our agenda is simple: love on the neighborhood! It isn't too late for you to get involved. Shoot me an email if you would like to be a part of the fun! Hoping and praying the rain holds off..

tom [@] cincyjourney [.] org

WOW...What A Weekend!

Words simply fail to describe this past weekend. It was completely thrilling from start to finish. I continue to be amazed at how God is working in and through Journey Church. What a ride!

My Saturday conference was very well received. People were connecting with the content. It was a learning moment! The wedding Saturday evening was spectacular! The Sunday morning gathering at Journey was off the charts. One of our best weekends yet! Our Welcome to Journey class was packed. The conversation was engaging. People were connecting. Mission accomplished! The day was brought to a close with a short Journey Church leadership team meeting. More on that later...

Just about every moment from this past weekend was filled with activity beginning early Friday morning. It left me in much need of a day off today. I plan to spend the day working in the yard. This might be the last time I can battle the leaves without also battling cold weather. When the day comes to a close, there will not be one leaf on the ground! It is too bad that will only last for a few hours. I will win...eventually!

Weekend Preparation

Today was weekend prep day. Besides the usual writing I do on Thursday, I finished a talk that I will be giving this weekend here. It is weird how the Journey weekend topic and my assigned session for Saturday are so closely connected. I am pumped about both teaching in both moments.

The weekend will prove to be a busy one. I'll be teaching my conference in the morning on Saturday. I'll finish just in time to catch Hannah's last soccer game. I have the wedding I mentioned above Saturday evening. Sunday will bring the usual and another Welcome To Journey Class in the evening.

If you haven't signed up for the class (5-7 p.m. at my house) and would like to we still have a few more spots. Shoot me an email and I'll add you to the list (tom [@] cincyjourney [] org).

I'm off to get my hair cut and then head to small group.

Finish strong!

Tonight I was reminded why I do what I do. This evening was the rehearsal for the wedding of a young couple that connected with Journey on launch day back in January. It has been thrilling to watch their journey the past several months. I was deeply touched to read the words they wrote in a card they gave me and to hear family members share the change they have seen in them recently. Saturday will be a very special moment and I am honored to be involved.

On a totally unrelated note, there has been a major upgrade to the Planck estate. I now have 19.5 yards of freshly poured concrete in the front of my house. We'll be using it as a driveway for the foreseeable future. With the help of a kind friend and a Bobcat we removed the poor excuse we had for a driveway on Saturday. I cannot wait to roll into my crib on the new slab! I have one more "small" purchase to make before the home improvement will be complete. Tytus and Hannah (errr me!) need one of these.

Small Groups...We're Back!

When Journey Church launched at the beginning of the year, Andrea and I made the decision that we wouldn't be involved in a small group. We wanted to give our full attention to a couple key points in our follow up and assimilation process. While we plan to continue to give the same energy in that direction, we also felt the need to be connected to something that is deeply important to both of us--a small group. When our small group fall/winter session kicked off a few weeks ago, we landed in one of our groups. We aren't leading. We aren't hosting. We are simply participating. It feels right. It feels good. We glad to be back.

"The Treasure Principle" (Part 2)

A few lessons I learned and/or was reminded of while reading:

1) The more I give the more free I become.
2) My giving is a reflexive response to the grace of God in my life.
3) The act of giving is a vivid reminder that it's all about God, not about me.
4) God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.
5) Just because God puts His money in my hand doesn't mean He intends for it to stay there!
6) I have a greater capacity to give, but choose not to.
7) In fifteen years of ministry, I have not taught the Biblical principles of money/giving well or often enough.

"The Treasure Principle"

I read a great book yesterday. If you read this blog and I have any influence in your life please read this book. It will take you about an hour and you will not regret it.

The person who gave me my copy purchased several hundred and is giving them to local churches. By weeks end, I will 150+ copies for Journey Church. I want every family in our community to have an opportunity to read this book!

Discipline

I was reading blogs late this evening when I came across the following quote from one of my favorite bloggers: Greatness is achieved when disciplined people engage in disciplined thought and take disciplined action. That is quite a statement coming from a man who has invested a great deal of time studying the subject.

The blog post went on to ask three engaging questions:

1. Over the last 90 days, what were your top 5 accomplishments? (big picture stuff, not, "I preached a sermon")
2. What were your top 3 priorities last week?
3. What are your top 3 priorities for this week and are you on track to reach them?

Life and ministry move at such a frantic pace most weeks, it is so easy to get lost in undisciplined movement. One of my big weaknesses right now is discipline. I have been sensing that reality with greater force recently. If Jim is right then I must not only identify the weakness, but also make the necessary changes to restore discipline. I have already added a few digital post-it notes to my computer to move in a new direction. I am making applications as I type!

What good can $100 do?

This is awesome!

Tuesday Update

I spent a majority of my day today touring AIG's facility. Luke and I were invited to a special pastor's luncheon. It was hard to pass on the FREE lunch. I was really impressed with AIG's whole deal. It far exceeded my expectations.

The evening was invested in helping Luke prepare his new estate to Jen's standards. I am pumped for them. They are hoping to move in this weekend. I am pretty sure I am too busy to help them.

The rest of my week is packed. If you need me I will have my head down and I will be running up the score. For those of you wondering what that means, I'll be working extremely hard the next few days. However, I will not be too busy to blog.

More tomorrow...

Fall Has Arrived

Today I am "resting."  Resting this time of year at my house means fighting the battle of the leaves.  I usually lose until late November.  I love fall.  I hate the mess it creates. If you need me today I'll be "resting" behind my mower.

I'm Back!

I know I have said it before.  I know I have promised to add content to this page with regularity at other times in the past. Regrettably, I didn't deliver. As the week ends, I have been sensing the need and desire to become a more regular and determined blogger.  I am publicly making that commitment again.

I'll look forward to sharing...