It’s All About Me…

I know when you read that title you probably thought I was going to really stick it to those people who think the world revolves around them or I was going to hit some pride issues.  Nope.  Today really is all about me which is very awkward.  I had someone say to me the other day, “I really enjoy reading your blog but I still really don’t know what you like or don’t like.”  So today is a few lists of things that I like and most likely I will lose some readers because you may not like what I like and may even be offended that I would like that. (There was a lot of “likes” in that sentence.) However, this is who I am.  So, here we go.

Top 5 Artists or Bands:

• Nirvana
• Hillsong
• The Beatles
• Eminem
• U2

Top 5 Movies:

• Braveheart
• The Notebook
• Gladiator
• The Breakfast Club
• Dumb & Dumber

Top 5 Books: (The Bible being the exception)

• Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
• Visioneering by Andy Stanley
• Crazy Love by Francis Chan
• Confessions Of A Pastor by Craig Groeschel
• In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson

Top 5 T.V. Shows

• Survivor
• Modern Family
• The Office
• Greys Anatomy
• Sportscenter

Top 5 Favorite Real Foods

• Pizza
• BBQ -Ribs & Brisket
• Seafood
• Mexican
• Chinese

Top 5 Favorite Junk Foods

• Doritos
• Oreos
• Candy
• Beef Jerky
• Ice Cream

Favorite Sports Teams:

• NFL- Philadelphia Eagles
• MLB- Philadelphia Phillies
• NBA- Los Angeles Lakers
• NHL- Philadelphia Flyers (To be honest I only watch hockey in the playoffs)
• College Basketball- University of North Carolina
• College Football- University of Southern California

People I’d Like To Meet: (Alive or Dead)

• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Steve Jobs
• Chris Farley
• Francis Chan
• Steven Furtick
• Perry Noble
• Nelson Mandela
• Andy Stanley
• John Maxwell
• Bono
• Kobe Bryant

There it is briefly the things I like.

Be You

While I was driving today I heard on the radio that Subway is now serving breakfast.  Really?  No offense to Subway but when I think of breakfast they are the last fast food industry that I think of.  I’m sure they have done marketing and research.  I’m sure they have even talked to consumers about the possibility of this endeavor.  Their build a better breakfast slogan is catchy and the food does look very good, however.  My question is this, why can’t Subway do what they are good at?  It’s the same reason why Chick-Fil-A does not make burgers or KFC does not make Tacos because they know what they are good at and they stick to it. (Yes I am aware that KFC joins together with Taco Bell and Pizza Hut)

Once again it got me thinking about us as individuals trying to be something we are not.  Maybe we are trying to be all things to all people.  Maybe we don’t even know who we are now.  As a pastor I know who I am and who I am not.

• I know I am not going to write a book that will give the world 40 days of purpose like Rick Warren.
• I know I am not going to have the fashion sense or tenacity of a Steven Furtick.
• I know I am not going to wear polo shirts and speak from a stool where every word I speak should be written in a leadership book like Andy Stanley.
• I know I am not going to be able to get away with cussing like Mark Driscoll.
• I know I am not going to sing and act out my messages like Ed Young.
• I know I am not going to smile relentlessly like Joel Olsteen.
• I know I am not going to be as deep and studied as Mark Batterson.
• I know I am not going to be as funny and raw and bold as Perry Noble.
• I know I am not going to have the faith and passion of a Francis Chan.
• I know I am not going to have the incredible voice of T.D. Jakes.
• I know I am not going to have the build or as many campuses as Craig Groeschel.
• I know I am not going to have powerful worship in my church like Brian Houston.
• I know I am not going to stand through trials like Matt Chandler.

What I do know is that I was not created to be them.  I was created to be me.  I was created to serve God to the best of my abilities.  The quicker you and I realize who we were created to be the quicker you and I will experience the life that God created us to enjoy.

So don’t be a Subway where you come across as desperate chasing the competition but do what you do and do it better than anybody else.

Online Service Options

Perry Noble

• NewSpring Church (11:15 am & 2:00 pm Sunday)

Dino Rizzo

• Healing Place Church (11am & 9pm)

Mark Beeson

• Granger Community Church (6:30pm & 8:30pm)

Tadd Grandstaff

• Pine Ridge Church (11:00am)

Troy Grambling

• Flamingo Road Church (9:30, 11:00, 12:45pm, 5:00pm)

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

Catalyst West 5 of 6: Craig Groeschel

Over the next couple blogs you will see quotes done by those who spoke at Catalyst West in LA over this last week.  Each of these guys are leaders in their field and have the ability to shape us with their quotes.  Just remember we were not there so some quotes are incomplete and we don’t know the context in which they were made.

• 3:54 PM tonymorganlive - Jud is introducing Craig from LifeChurch.tv.
• 3:55 PM tonymorganlive - (Just in case you didn’t know, Craig is the most handsome pastor in America.)
• 3:55 PM tonymorganlive - “I was taught and I thought” that’s the name of the talk.
• 3:57 PM tonymorganlive - “What believe determines what we do.”
• 3:58 PM tonymorganlive - “Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of the American church.”
• 3:59 PM tonymorganlive - “I was taught the church should be a safe place, but I’m learning the church should be dangerous again.”
• 4:00 PM tonymorganlive - “We’ve been inviting people to a very safe God.”
• 4:02 PM tonymorganlive - “You are called by God to preach a very dangerous message.”
• 4:02 PM tonymorganlive - “Preach Christ.”
• 4:05 PM tonymorganlive - “He was different in the presence of God.”
• 4:05 PM tonymorganlive - “Don’t trust the package. Trust the power of the Gospel.”
• 4:07 PM tonymorganlive - “Practical Athiests = People who believe in God, but act like he doesn’t exist.”
• 4:07 PM tonymorganlive - “Lukewarm pastors build lukewarm churches.”
• 4:09 PM tonymorganlive - “I was taught was to build my church, but I’ve learned my highest calling is to build His Kingdom.”
• 4:11 PM tonymorganlive - “My pastor says your pastor doesn’t preach the Truth.”
• 4:12 PM tonymorganlive - “I was competitive with churches in my community.”
• 4:12 PM tonymorganlive - “I was building my own little kingdom more than I was building His Kingdom.”
• 4:13 PM tonymorganlive - “Build your church on what you’re about and not what you’re not about.”
• 4:13 PM tonymorganlive - “Don’t put others down.”
• 4:14 PM tonymorganlive - “One of my important missions in life is to unite the Church.”
• 4:15 PM tonymorganlive - (LifeChurch.tv offers all of their resources for free.)
• 4:16 PM tonymorganlive - “We can do more together.”
• 4:18 PM tonymorganlive - “I was taught that success is only found in the big numbers, but I’m learning that the scorecard is changing.”
• 4:18 PM tonymorganlive - “You can offer free beer and draw a crowd.”
• 4:19 PM tonymorganlive - “I was driven by the numbers.”
• 4:20 PM tonymorganlive - “Don’t blame yourself the declines, or you might be tempted to take credit for the increases.”
• 4:20 PM tonymorganlive - “Find your identity in Christ.”
• 4:21 PM tonymorganlive - “Otherwise, you’ll be preaching to bring people in rather than to glorify God.”
• 4:21 PM tonymorganlive - “We have to redefine the win.”
• 4:22 PM tonymorganlive - “There are 4 billion people who need Christ. How can we claim to be a megachurch? We are a small church with a megavision.”
• 4:23 PM tonymorganlive - “People want to join a big mission.”
• 4:25 PM tonymorganlive - “You may agree or disagree. I don’t really care a whole lot.”
• 4:26 PM tonymorganlive - Line 1 = “I believe in the Gospel enough to benefit from it.”
• 4:27 PM tonymorganlive - Line 2 = “I believe in the Gospel enough to contribute comfortably.”
• 4:27 PM tonymorganlive - Line 3 = “I believe in the Gospel enough to give my life to it.”
• 4:28 PM tonymorganlive - “What kind of message am I preaching and living?”
• 4:29 PM tonymorganlive - “If you stay the same, maybe you don’t really know Him.”
• 4:30 PM tonymorganlive - (Craig just did the worm.)
• 4:30 PM tonymorganlive - (That was a pretty powerful message.)

Giving Up

Craig Groeschel on his blog had this post today and it fits really well with our current series, Practical Atheist. What’s your thoughts?

Someone said, “In order to ‘go up,’ there are many things you’ll have to ‘give up.’”

As God expands your influence you’ll be honored to give up some things you used to enjoy.

* You might give up your privacy.
* You might give up much of your spare time.
* You will have to give up control.
* You will have to surrender your reputation.

Whenever I am tempted to complain about something I’ve given up, I remember what Jesus gave up for me. I also acknowledge that many around the world are giving their lives for their faith in Christ.

It is an honor to give up to go up.

What are you giving up to go up this week?

Isims

* “No one wants to sign up at the ‘go to hell’ table.”
* “You don’t have to be good to get into Heaven – you have to be perfect.”
* “The bad guy deserves to die. Here’s the problem – we’re the bad guy.”
* “If life were perfect, it wouldn’t be life; it would be heaven.”
* “We’re talking about Jesus. He’s pretty important. He was dead, and now he’s alive. I’m going to listen to that guy.”
* “Jesus said, ‘If you put me first, I’ll take care of everything else.’”
* “We don’t have a problem recommending a restaurant, but we do have a problem recommending a Savior.”
* “Hell is real. And people that don’t know Jesus go there.”
* “Most Christians are willing to do something for Jesus as long as it doesn’t cost them anything.”
* “I had allowed spending time with God to be replaced by spending time doing things for God.”
* “There are no perfect churches to serve in, no perfect pastors to work for, and no perfect environments.”
* “An unguarded strength can become your greatest weakness.”
* “You should design your ministry around your family values.”
* “How do you get people to give? You have to preach on it. Only the people who aren’t giving will leave.”
* “Everyone here can look at another church and call the change they need to make. But can you do that for your church?”
* “Fear of criticism is a powerful deterrent because the criticism doesn’t actually have to occur for the fear to set in.”
* “If a leader isn’t forward-looking the organization they lead will expend tremendous amounts of sideways energy.”
* “Do you have a burden??? Do you have a opportunity to communicate that burden??? By definition that is a ‘calling’… Respond?”
* “Hell begins the day that God grants you the vision to see all that you could have, should have, and would have done, but did not do.”

All quotes from: Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, Brad Cooper, Mark Batterson, Earl Henslin, Seth Godin, Wayne Cordeiro, Craig Groeschel, Bill Hybels, Perry Noble, Tony Morgan

Books

Books are powerful and have the ability to shape us as well as a culture.  I have been asked several times lately what are some of the books that I have read recently that have shaped or influenced me.  So I have been compiling a list of books that over the last six months have shaped me and they may be worth your time to check out.  These are the books that have challenged me and caused me to look at things differently and they will be in no particular order.  I believe that leaders are learners, the moment you stop learning you stop leading.  I have heard you can tell what kind of a leader someone is by the books they read and the company they keep.  Over the next couple days I will be posting different books and try to link to their blog or church and allow you to check them out for yourself.  What books have you read that are influential in your life?

Craig Groeschel wrote both Confessions of a pastor and it.  Craig Groeschel is the lead pastor of Lifechurch.tv with several campus.  Craig has taken technology and leveraged it to reach this generation and generations to come.  I heard Craig speak at the Catalyst conference two years ago and to see a pastor be that transparent was incredible and it showed me that I have struggles and it’s okay.  it is a book about just that, it.  Who has it?  How do you get it?  What is it?  How do you keep it?  Both are great books for your library.