Water Wars Update

Don’t miss this Sunday at 6:00pm as we do Water Wars.  Come and hang out as summer is almost over and jump on down our 100ft slip & slide, have water balloon wars, free BBQ and chill out afterwards for a movie on the lawn.

Make sure to bring a towel, change of clothing, bug spray if needed and a beach chair.

No cost for the event.

Pickup time is 10:30pm

Not sure on the movie yet.

Michael Vick

First let me say that what Michael Vick did was his choice and it was wrong and I don’t agree with what he did.  With that being said, I will also say that Michael Vick has paid the debt that he was told to pay.  A jury of his peers and mine decided that 2 years in prison was a suitable punishment for what he did.  Whether it is or isn’t is not for me to judge but I have to trust our judicial system.

What I do know is that regardless of what he has done he deserves a second chance.  I applaud the Philadelphia Eagles for taking a chance on him and for them giving him the opportunity to right what he has wronged.

I heard so many comments last night on facebook, twitter, emails and the radio with a mix of hatred and excitement.  People are on both sides of the fence on this one and are passionate about both of their stances as they should be.  I listened to this become an “animal rights” debate, a “race” debate, a “hatred” debate, a “redemption” debate, and no matter where you stand on the debate I wanted to remind everybody including myself that at the core of everything this is a “heart” issue.

Isn’t that the issue for all of us?  I have never killed dogs but I have killed peoples reputations, I have hurt people, I have judged, I have lied, I have lusted, I have murdered in my heart because of my own anger, I have stepped on, I have envy in my heart.  At the end of the day I have a “heart” issue as well.

There was this woman that was caught in the act of adultery and she was brought before Jesus.  The religious leaders didn’t want hur she was bait to catch Jesus.  Adultery was a death sentence by stoning. They said to Jesus that the Law of Moses commands us to stone her, what do you say?

TRICK QUESTION!

If Jesus said stone her, then he would be breaking Roman law that Jews cannot carry out the death penalty.  If Jesus says let her go then he would not be supporting the Law of Moses.  So Jesus did what none of us would have thought to do, He said “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

::FAST FORWARD 2000 YEARS::

It’s not a woman caught in adultery it’s Michael Vick caught in the act of killing dogs, and it’s not the teachers of the law and Pharisees it’s us, saying the same thing that he deserves to pay.  And then there’s Jesus saying, “Ryan, if you are without sin, go ahead and judge him.”

Puts it into perspective doesn’t it?

We each have a choice to forgive and allow second chances.  The reality is it’s really not the woman caught in adultery or Michael Vick it’s you and me everyday of our lives.  It’s the junk that is hidden that if it was pulled out to the surface and revealed…well, there is always somebody who wants to throw stones.

As a follower of Christ it is my job to accept and love those who are unlovable.  To give others a second chance and not judge.  Because God knows I don’t deserve the chances I have been given and I don’t deserve the forgivness I have seen.

Don’t become part of the stone throwing instead take the opportunity to teach on forgivness, grace, love, hope and redemption.  That’s what Jesus would do.

Reach Me

I was over at a blog by Church Relevance and I kept seeing these pictures at the top of the website and when I would switch pages the picture would change and on each picture it said this, “What are you doing to reach me?” Amazing I can go all day and not think about that because I get so busy thinking about myself.

These pictures could be family, neighbors, co-workers, friends, team members or you.

So I ask the questions, who have you served this week with no intentions?

Who have you gotten comfortably uncomfortable with and asked them where they worship?

Who have you shared your story to?

Who have you asked about their story?

Who have you invited?

Who have you prayed for this week?

We all get busy but if we are humble God can make us usable.

What are you and I doing to reach them?

Church Growth

This is a mix on what Steven Furtick wrote on his blog at Elevation Church and a bit of what Salome Thomas El spoke on a couple weeks ago at Fellowship Church.  I changed it a bit but ask yourself what if…could church really be like this?

We enable experiences and interactions that leave our people saying:
I love my church

So they’ll tell their un-churched friends:
You’ve got to come check out my church

The un-churched friends come.
We worship Jesus and preach the Gospel with excellence.

The un-churched friends leave saying:
I really like this church

Inspiring them to come back again and again until they say:
I love Jesus and I love my church

And tell their un-churched friends:
You’ve got to come check out my church…

Earn It

I watched one of the most powerful movies ever written on Monday and Tuesday called Saving Private Ryan.  I sat there and watched the sacrifice of so many that have come before me and thought about the freedom that I have and in reality how I don’t deserve it because I have done nothing to earn it.

I watched the final scene of the movie where Tom Hanks is sitting on the bridge trying to blow it and keep the Germans from crossing over and taking a huge step towards victory.  He could have taken private Ryan with his 6 out of 8 remaining guys and left but they chose to stay and fight.  In doing so he gave his life for his country and for private Ryan.  His ending statement to private Ryan was, “Earn this, earn it”.  At the end of the movie private Ryan asks his wife if he has led a good life and if he was a good man?  His entire life he felt the need to earn what had been given to him.  He felt the need to pay back the debt that was paid for his freedom.

I sat and thought I am so much like private Ryan.  There was a debt that was paid for me and I spend my life trying to pay it back and earn it.  The truth is there is nothing I can do to earn God’s love or lose God’s love.  There is nothing I can do to earn or payback the debt that has been paid for my life.  So today live as if you are free because if you believe you belong and the debt has been paid for your life and you don’t have to try to earn it or pay it back you simply honor God by loving Him, loving others and serving both to the best of your ability.  That’s it.  We don’t deserve it but that is why it is a Gift.

Leadership Summit 11 of 11

On this blog I will be re-posting quotes from the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek that happened last week.  Bill Hybels heads up this conference and brings in some of the most influential leaders in the country each year to be a part of the process.  I am simply re-posting what Tony Morgan has on his blog www.tonymorganlive.com, these are not my quotes or comments.  These quotes may or may not apply to you or the position you may hold but if you can benefit from any of the truths that are written than run with it.

Top 11 Leadership Challenges

I had a great couple of days at the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek earlier this week. The notes for all the sessions are available in previous posts. Here are my top 11 leadership challenges from all the sessions. These are my favorite challenges from each speaker.

1. “Sometimes the comfortable thing to do isn’t the right thing to do.” -Tony Blair
2. “What I really find hard to take is lifeless ceremony.” -Bono
3. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -David Gergen quoting unknown person
4. “In God’s economy, vision should move from the fringes to the middle.” -Dave Gibbons
5. “When an organization misses the future, it’s not because it was unknown–it was because it’s inpalatable.” -Gary Hamel
6. “When you find the bright spot, study it and clone it.” -Dan Heath
7. “When I listen to God slowly, he speaks more frequently.” -Bill Hybels
8. “People consider it compassionate not to be honest with people. It’s not. That’s disrespectful.” -Carly Fiorina on dealing with poor performance
9. “People who believe the Gospel are utterly different.” -Tim Keller
10. “There is no country in the world that has developed through handouts.” -Andrew Rugasira
11. “What’s your cause? Does it move you to tears? What is it that moves you passionately?” -Wess Stafford

Leadership Summit 10 of 11

Over the next blog I will be re-posting quotes from the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek that happened last week.  Bill Hybels heads up this conference and brings in some of the most influential leaders in the country each year to be a part of the process.  I am simply re-posting what Tony Morgan has on his blog www.tonymorganlive.com, these are not my quotes or comments.  These quotes may or may not apply to you or the position you may hold but if you can benefit from any of the truths that are written than run with it.

Leadership Summit: Tony Blair

• “Sometimes the comfortable thing to do isn’t the right thing to do.”
• “Be prepared to walk away.”
• “If the facts change, I change my mind.”
• “There are those running a commentary and then there are those who are actually trying to shape the world around them.”
• “If you are of religious faith, it’s the most important thing in your life.”
• “Of course it sustained me enormously.”
• “Faith is a potent force for good or bad.”
• “Are we going to react or make a statement?”
• [It's interesting how many times the various speakers over the last couple of days have referred to "emotional appeals" in communications.]
• “I feel like I have a purpose in life.”
• “Leadership is a blessing. It’s a gift–a gift you can use to help others.”
• “The joy of getting something done makes all the pain worthwhile.”
• “It’s a gift from God and we should use it.”
• Hybels: “What is my irreducible core?” (referencing Blair comments)
• Hybels: “Will I pay whatever price I have to pay to stay true to that?”

Leadership Summit 9 of 11

Over the next two blogs I will be re-posting quotes from the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek that happened last week.  Bill Hybels heads up this conference and brings in some of the most influential leaders in the country each year to be a part of the process.  I am simply re-posting what Tony Morgan has on his blog www.tonymorganlive.com, these are not my quotes or comments.  These quotes may or may not apply to you or the position you may hold but if you can benefit from any of the truths that are written than run with it.

Leadership Summit: Bono

• This is a video interview between Bill Hybels and Bono. It’s a follow up from a similar video interview three years ago.
• “I didn’t know the giant could run that fast.”
• “The church is in the lead–not in the rear.”
• “Malaria deaths are down 50%. We’re actually winning on this stuff.”
• “We believe that ‘love thy neighbor’ is not advice. It’s a command.”
• We’re watching a video sharing the story of Eagle Brook Church’s involvement in addressing AIDS in Africa. www.eaglebrookchurch.com
• Bono wrote the words to “Where the Streets Have No Name” in Ethiopia twenty-some years ago.
• “Intuition is greater than intellect.”
• Watching a video about Whittier Area Community Church’s efforts to help kids in Africa: www.wacc.net
• “I go where the life is.” (referring to church.)
• “What I really find hard to take is lifeless ceremony.”
• “When you’re making a sermon, people want you to be honest. They want a spirit of humility.”
• Now we’re watching a video about Lives Changed By Christ church: www.lcbcchurch.com
• “The church tends to separate itself from people.”
• “That’s not grace.”
• “Whenever I see grace, I’m moved.”
• “There is always resistance to the journey of equality.”
• “These statistics have faces.”

Leadership Summit 8 of 11

Over the next three blogs I will be re-posting quotes from the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek that happened last week.  Bill Hybels heads up this conference and brings in some of the most influential leaders in the country each year to be a part of the process.  I am simply re-posting what Tony Morgan has on his blog www.tonymorganlive.com, these are not my quotes or comments.  These quotes may or may not apply to you or the position you may hold but if you can benefit from any of the truths that are written than run with it.

Leadership Summit: Chip & Dan Heath

Leadership Summit 7 of 11

Over the next four blogs I will be re-posting quotes from the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek that happened last week.  Bill Hybels heads up this conference and brings in some of the most influential leaders in the country each year to be a part of the process.  I am simply re-posting what Tony Morgan has on his blog www.tonymorganlive.com, these are not my quotes or comments.  These quotes may or may not apply to you or the position you may hold but if you can benefit from any of the truths that are written than run with it.

Leadership Summit: David Gergen

• Here’s a link to Gergen’s book: www.amazon.com
• “Ford was the most decent President I worked for.”
• “We have come to prize people who are decent…because they seem to be so rare.”
• “The quality I most admired in Clinton was his resilience.”
• “Reagan was the best leader in the White House since Franklin Roosevelt.”
• “He had a contagious optimism about life.” (about Reagan)
• Reagan used to say, “Sometimes the right hand doesn’t know what the far-right hand is doing.”
• “Nixon had demons in him that he could not control. Eventually they brought him down.”
• “Ford could sometimes be a little naive.”
• “Reagan would sometimes let others put their hands on the wheel.”
• “Clinton clearly had cracks in his character. He made mistakes. He made grievous mistakes.”
• “Not all great leaders are deeply flawed.”
• “I think all of us is flawed. Maturity is about coming to grips with our flaws.”
• “With regard to our leaders, we should be more forgiving about their private lives but more demanding about their public lives.”
• Warren Bennis: “The days of the ‘lone ranger’ as a leader is over.”
• “Your role as a leader should be to build a team of other leaders.”
• “We build things together.”
• Gergen quoting someone else: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
• “Trying to order people doesn’t work. We need to persuade people.”
• [The "go fast" line may be the best takeaway of the entire conference.]
• Hybels: “Your brand, I think, is your hair.” (about Gergen)
• “We are so bombarded with words.”
• “You’re not going to listen to someone who is sounding off. You’ll listen to someone who is rooted.”
• “A speech shouldn’t last more than 15 or 20 minutes.”
• “In the early part of your speech, establish who you are.” (assuming they don’t know you.)
• “Then introduce the emotion.”
• “Then the message should be the reasoned part of your speech.”
• “At the end, it’s really important to come back to the emotional appeal. You have to have a call to action.”
• “I think the best preachers bring the argument, but they also bring the emotional appeal.”
• [Hybels has always been a very good interviewer.]
• “Leadership is a very physically demanding part of life.”
• “You have to be physically fit.”
• “You have to build time into your day to reflect.”
• “You have to build time into your day to spend time with the people you cherish.”
• “Having a moral compass is extremely important to leadership.”
• “It’s important to have good anchors in life.”
• “Faith and family and friends are great anchors in life.”

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