Resurrection?

The topic of my weekly CMA conference call today was blogging. It gave me the blogging itch.

Expect more here soon!

I'm Still Here

When one takes such a long unannounced blogging break, re-entry is difficult. I feel I need to explain myself or provide a list of "excuses." I'll resist the temptation to do either.

Know this, I haven't given up on my blogging effort.

L'Ville Update

I made it safely to Louisville early this afternoon. I checked into my room and quickly headed to dinner with a pastor friend of mine who is planting a church here in Louisville. We enjoyed a great burrito and conversation together.

The conference kicked off this evening in a big way. The worship was solid. Both keynote speakers hit home runs!

I am so pumped about sharing in this moment tomorrow. In the past year and a half, God has authored an amazing story at Journey Church and I cannot wait to share it! I am praying it will be a source of encouragement to all the planters that are here.

Road Trip

I am headed out of town again late this week. I will be headed south early Friday afternoon. It will be a quick over night trip to Louisville, Kentucky. I have been asked to speak in two sessions at a church planters conference that is being held down there this weekend. I plan to be back in Cincinnati by 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. That should be just in time to get to the ball park. The Journey men's softball team is playing in an evening tournament.

I spent the biggest part of the day yesterday finishing the notes for my main session. I was given the topic the following topic--"Nuts and Bolts: Real Stories From The Church Planting Journey." I am really excited about the content I have pulled together. During the second session, I will be part of a panel discussion.

I am pumped about sharing in this event! I love church planting. I love church planters. I am sure it will be big fun!

Birthday Wishes!

My baby turns seven today. Happy Birthday Hannah!

Thinking Systems

My apologies for my lack of action this week on the blog. I have no excuses to offer. I have found myself drawn inward the past few days as the summer months approach. The slower pace of schedule this summer will provide some space to pray and dream more--to work on it not just in it.

I will be challenging the team in a staff meeting this afternoon to think about the next 6 months in blocks of 100 days (June-August and September-November). This won't be a new approach for us, but I do think we need to more closely set and manage some measurable goals for each of our ministry areas and our church as a whole. If we aim at nothing we hit nothing. We certainly haven't been aiming at nothing, but we must continue to keep the target in view and fine tune our focus.

We are going to be specifically seeking to answer one question at our staff off-site on June 2nd: Systematically (structurally), what needs to change at Journey Church for us to push toward the 400 mark by the end of 2007? Organizations, churches and ministries must change or growth slows. In the past sixteen months, we have made shifts in our systems/structure on several fronts. I think each shift has provided the needed change to allow for more growth. As the fall approaches, our systems/structure must continue to grow as well.

I love thinking through these issues. I love praying and seeking God's heart for the road ahead. I love that I am part of a community open to change so more people can be reached and connected. I love my job. I love Journey Church.

You will definitely want to be around on Sunday. We'll be dedicating 17 18 children from 12 13 families. We will also be kicking off our new Disciples series. I will be praying that it is a life changing moment for everyone who is there. I trust you will do the same.

Teaching In Series

For the past sixteen months at Journey Church, I have taught in series format. I have taken one topic and tried to unpack it over three to six weeks. I love teaching in a series format for several reasons:

1. It allows me to hammer home one BIG idea over several weeks. Less really is more.
2. I love the way each talk is either connected or builds on the other. This allows me to say more in a shorter amount of time.
3. It provides an easy way to review, review, review. What gets repeated has a better chance of being remembered and learned.
4. It creates short journeys for our community to take together. Everyone wants to go somewhere. Each series is designed to lead our community to a certain "place."

These thoughts were on my mind today as I was prepping for Sunday's talk. This one will be the last talk in our Exposed series. It has been a powerful journey. This series has generated more feedback than any we have done. It's been fun!

Sunday's talk is Addiction [Exposed]. This will be a difficult topic to address due to the time limitations. I have clarity on what God wants shared. I can't wait for Sunday!

I am kind of sad the journey has to end. Good news is, a new series begins next weekend and the process starts all over again. I can't believe I get to do this for a living. What a ride!

The Eagle Has Landed

We are home!

Have I mentioned how much I hate flying? Man, was I glad to hear the tires of our plane finally hit concrete in Dayton. I love what an airplane is able to accomplish in a short amount of time, but I spend most of the moments in the air a nervous wreck.

I'll wake early in the a.m. to two full days as I head into a busy weekend. I feel energized.

I am jazzed about bringing our Exposed series to a close. You will definitely want to be around!

Headed Home

I'm sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting to catch our connecting flight to Dayton. I am glad to be headed home. I missed the kids and my normal routine.

The training finished strong today. We took the afternoon sessions and put some of new tools into action. It was fun immediately applying what we learned in some real coaching situations.

On the way home, I crafted a couple emails to the guys I'll be coaching over the next six months. These first couple of coaching relationships will be part of my training. I am really excited about getting this new edge to my ministry rolling. I see each coaching relationship as an extension of Journey Church's influence. It is thrilling to watch God expand the reach of our community!

I always dreamed I would be a coach. I have seen that dream become a reality on many levels. I have enjoyed coaching Ty's teams. I have also enjoyed "coaching" others as I have pastored the past sixteen years. Coaching and pastoring aren't too far apart. I am thrilled about coming along side other pastors to help them realize their God-given dreams. I look forward to watching God author some really cool stories.

Coach Training (Morning, Day 2)

We finished the coaching process training this morning. Solid stuff!

We also spent some time this morning working through the DISC profile and how that applies to the coaching relationship. It was an eye opening experience on multiple levels--personally (at home/at Journey) and what it will mean for me as I coach others.

It has been a very productive three days.

Coach Training (Afternoon, Day 1)

The afternoon sessions were great. The process we are walking through and the one I'll be using as I coach others is very intentional. The whole process is built on questions. The goal is to help people discover and effectively live their God-given calling/vision/dream. I am not expected to have all the answers. I am, however, expected to help those I coach ask the right questions. I have never felt more free or empowered to come alongside others.

As the material is being shared, I am developing a list applications points that reaches into every area of my life. I was actually mentally re-writing a couple sermons I have preached in the last couple weeks (marriage/parenting) during a session this afternoon. This material is challenging (for the better!) the way I lead at Journey and at home.

Andrea has also deeply benefited from her time in Daytona. She has spent two full days on the beach. She slept in this morning and had breakfast in bed. I am thrilled we were able to experience this trip together. It has been great for both of us.

I have a full day of training tomorrow. We'll be headed to the airport at 4 p.m. We arrive in Dayton at 11:00 p.m. We'll be glad to be home.

Coach Training (Morning, Day 1)

The morning sessions have been solid. When I was growing up, I wanted to be a coach (basketball/baseball). I ended up being a pastor/church planter. Over the years, I have realized more and more the two (coaching/pastoring) aren't that far apart. This week is taking that to a new level. I not only feel honored to be in this select group of Church of God pastors, but I am also jazzed about the future coaching opportunities it will open up.

Luke has a great post on a book he just finished. The gems are worth reading and will be relevant to those who have been following the Exposed series. Read here.

Daytona Beach, Florida

We arrived at the beach just after Noon. My training sessions do not begin until tomorrow morning (7 a.m. sharp!). This meant Andrea and I had one day to spend together. We laid on the beach, enjoyed a quiet dinner, and walked the beach as the sun was setting. It was awesome!

The door of our room is open and I can see/hear the crashing waves. I am confident I will sleep well tonight.

More updates tomorrow on the coaches training. I have very high expectations.

Atlanta Airport

Several months ago, I mentioned that I had been invited to coach other pastors in my tribe. Part of that invitation was the opportunity to get several days of training over the next year. I never dreamed the first part of the training would be in such a great location--Daytona Beach!

When I found out I was headed to the beach, I couldn't resist the temptation to bring Andrea along. We figured it would give her a couple days to just kick back and relax. She'll be working on her tan and I'll be just "working." I am glad we are traveling together this week. We'll miss the kids deeply, but it will be nice to be away. We'll be back late Wednesday evening.

I'll try to post some updates if I can get a solid WiFi signal at the hotel.

Preaching Clinic Takeaways

In many ways, the preaching clinic was a refresher on some things I already knew. Sometimes we simply need to be reminded of some core ideas. Here are three of those core ideas presenters shared that really hit home with me as it relates to preaching.

"If you are full-time and do not have the time then you do not deserve the time." This statement was made in the context of making time for study and preparation. Even though I am a full-time pastor, it is so easy to packed the calendar so full that preparation time gets pushed too far down the priority list. It never gets old being challenged to be fully prepared for the preaching task.

A similar statement was made that was a powerful idea to connect to the statement above. Another presenter said, "Expecting your personality to cover a lack of preparation is a sin." There is no need to expound on that. Needless to say, I walked away challenged to protect my study and sermon preparation time. Again, it never gets old being challenged to protect and grow in that way as a communicator.

As a preacher, I am big on communicating. I do not simply want to talk to people. I want to connect with people. Another presenter made this statement that also provided a great reminder that needs to be kept in view, "We must understand the thought patterns of our time in order to preach to the people of our time."

There were certainly more takeaways, but these three continue to ring in my mind and heart. Again, I am glad I made the trip.

Luke's Learnings

Luke is in Orlando this week. He's blogging from what looks like a tremendous learning opportunity. You can follow his play by play here.

I wish I could be there!

Glad To Be Home

I did make it back from California. I arrived early Friday evening just in time to play in the Journey men's softball game and a flurry of weekend activity. BTW, the Journey men did finally put one in the "W" column!

The conference was a solid experience. I'll try to post a couple of my big takeaways later this evening. We were also able to grab a few hours to see the sites on Thursday afternoon--AT & T Park for a Giants game, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Lombard Street. It was awesome. I was, however, glad to finally arrive back in West Chester. I missed Andrea and the kids big time! There truly is no place like home.

I think the most interesting conversations that took place were two that challenged me to write a book. They said the Journey Church story is begging to be told. They both went on to say that there are many pastors/church planters out there that would really benefit from reading our story and hearing about some lessons we have learned along the way. The same thread of conversation surfaced today over lunch with another pastor/church planter friend of mine.

I wondered aloud if my blog might be the kind of place to push some of that content public. I am wondering also if any pastors/church planters reading this blog might be interested in a few post along those lines. Blogging some of that content would serve a two-fold purpose. First, it would force me to a disciplined approach to writing (blogging). Second, I could test the content to see if anyone finds it helpful. If you are a faithful reader of this blog and would like to see some of that content come to life here leave me a comment.

Conference Update (Part 1)

I arrived at the conference today not really knowing what to expect. I had nothing to match the experience up against so I rolled in with mixed emotions and low expectations. It became apparent rather quickly that this was going to be a very good experience.

I was a bit surprised to find out I will have to preach a 10 minute sermon that will be video taped and evaluated by a panel of distinguished communicators. Yikes!

I am really glad I decided to make the trip. I am now fully engaged in allowing God to use the next few days to shape me and help me develop as a preacher.

I need some sleep. More tomorrow.

Preaching Conference

In a few hours, I'll be boarding an airplane headed for the San Francisco area. I am going out there for a couple days to attend a conference on preaching. I have attended many conferences over the years, but never one on preaching specifically. One of Journey's sponsoring organizations strongly encouraged all lead pastors to attend and are paying for most of the trip. It was a no brainer. It should be a great learning opportunity.

The conference ends Thursday afternoon and my flight doesn't leave until early Friday morning so that will provide some time to cruise the town. I have a list of places I want to see since it will be my first trip to the bay area.

I am also looking forward to connecting and hanging with some of my church planting buddies. I am expecting a great week! I hope to find some time to blog about my adventure.

Fitness Update

It's been a while since I provided an update on my recent fitness journey. It all began when I opened my mouth in a small group that was discussing one of my talks from late November. I said something like, "Well, I need to be more committed to how I am taking care of myself physically." Since those words left my mouth, I have made an intentional effort to get back into shape. I am finally approaching that place I would describe as "back in shape." It feels good.

I am really enjoying my lifting sessions again. After almost 250 miles logged since early December, running is longer painful. It is actually a place where I can think, dream, learn, and pray.

There are times when I open my mouth and wish I hadn't. This time I am glad those words left my lips. They created the accountability I needed.