Name Dropper

Alright let’s be honest…who doesn’t like to name drop every once in a while?  Like the time I ran into Kelly Ripa at the Franklin Institute in Philly.  No literally I walked back into a room and strategically ran into her to say hi, I know I’m pathetic.  At Catalyst I had a chance to run into a guy who through his books has shaped a lot of my thinking as a Christ Follower.  He had no clue who I was at the time as tons of people were pulling for his attention.  Running into guys like that for me is like others running into their favorite athlete.

Today I had a chance to meet Mark Batterson again.  Mark is the pastor of National Community Church in D.C. and the author of In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day, Wild Goose Chase and his new one Primal.  I was invited to have lunch with some local pastors and Mark today through the Primal tour that Hockessin Baptist Church is sponsoring.  If I had to describe Mark I would say, humble encourager.  No wonder God blesses people and churches like that when they have leaders like Mark.  He actually took the time to talk to me for 20 minutes one on one and just pick my brain and invest into me.  Very humbling experience and he also shared with me what he felt God wanted me to hear.  Little did he know at the time, but it was exactly what I needed to hear.  He had one of his campus pastors with him Chris Jarrell who displayed a lot of the same qualities of Mark.

Here are some takeaways from the lunch:

• Nothing keeps us on our knees like uncertainty.
• Everything is an experiment. ::That way if it flops, it’s okay it was an experiment.
• Church in an organic way…leadership from the bottom up not the top down.  ::Lift up your teams.
• There are ways of doing church, that no one has ever thought of yet.  ::That pumps me up.
• It’s not failure if you learn from it.
• Don’t just think BIG-think L  O  N  G
• Identify the spiritually defining moments in your life.
• Don’t let your budget shape your vision, let your vision shape your budget.
• Change of place + change of space = change of perspective.
• Spend more time with God than you do with people in the church.
• Nothing is better than doing ministry out of the overflow of what God is doing in you!

What a great day as those of you who follow this blog, you know that I love leadership.

So tell me what famous people have you met?  What thoughts from above from Mark stuck out to you?

Coaching Network

I have had the privilege to be a part of Backstage Leadership since September and to be honest I didn’t know what to expect. I had never been a part of anything like this but I knew I was passionate about leadership and developing not only myself but taking what I was learning and applying it to my circles of influence.

I have been blown away by the line up of speakers that I have gotten to interview such as: Chuck Colson, Michael Hyatt, Andy Andrews, Carlos Whitaker, Gabe Lyons and Brad Lomenick. The first semester line up was incredible and challenged me in such areas as; time management, dream casting, social networking, leadership development and family being a priority.

Here is the line up for second semester if you are interested in signing up: Mark Batterson, Dan Cathy, Catherine Rohr, Mike Foster, and Ken Blanchard.  Once again I guarantee that you will be challenged in leadership and lifestyle buy some of the best communicators, authors and leaders there is.

Backstage was started by Greg Darley and has gone from concept into an idea that is transforming young leaders by giving them opportunities to learn from those who have blazed the path before us.  I can honestly say I am a different leader and approach leadership differently because of this program and hopefully one day have the opportunity to pour into others like Greg has poured into me.

If your interested in joining Backstage Leadership, check out their website at www.backstageleadership.org

PRIMAL A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity_Book Review

Getting a chance to write a review for Mark Batterson’s new book Primal was exciting for me because his first two books, In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase have been two books that have helped reshape my philosophy on life and to some degree my trajectory of focus.  Primal is no exception.  Mark is a very talented and gifted writer who is able to articulate intense depth at a practical level.

He writes in the cover, “Is there a place in your past where you met God and God met you? A place where your heart broke for the things that break the heart of God?  Maybe it was a sermon that became more than a sermon.  Maybe it was a mission tip or retreat.  Maybe it was a vow you made at an altar.  In that moment, God birthed something supernatural in your spirit.  You knew you’d never be the same again. My prayer is that this book would take you back to that burning bush-and reignite a primal faith.”

“A place where your heart broke for the things that break the heart of God?” Sometimes you get so busy in the craziness of life that you don’t stop to think about that statement, and if we’re honest with ourselves, we would rather not be hassled with those things, those things can be taken care of by somebody else.

Mark breaks down Christianity to four things: compassion, wonder, curiosity and power.  Mark says, “Faith is not faith until it is acted upon” and this book is challenging me to look at those four areas in my life and ask myself am I acting upon them.  Does my heart break for the things that break the heart of God?  Do I remember what it was like in the beginning before I learned about religion, back when it was about a relationship?

Whether you’ve been a Christ follower for years or just starting out in your journey this book is a book that will challenge you to think outside the box, feel outside the box and act outside the box.  I highly recommend it to anybody out there and would strongly recommend that Primal be the first book you read in the New Year.

Thank you to waterbrookmultnomah.com for providing me with a free copy of this book and a chance to review a life changing book for so many.

To purchase the book yourself you may go to RandomHouse.com

Inverted Christianity

This was an incredibly insightful post from Mark Batterson that you need to read.

Two thousand years ago Jesus extended an unbelievable invitation: “follow me.” And the invitation is still on the table. But let me drill down on this a little bit. I think there are lots of people who think they have accepted the invitation. They think they are following Jesus. But the reality is that they have invited Jesus to follow them. And there is a world of difference!

For the first nineteen years of my life, if I’m being totally honest, I think it was more about Jesus following me. I didn’t want to go anywhere without him. But it wasn’t about me serving His purposes. It was about Him serving my purposes. I think many Christians have an inverted relationship with Christ. Call it spiritual selfishness. Our relationship with Him is all about us. And then we wonder why we’re unfulfilled and bored with our faith.

Are you following Jesus? Or is Jesus following you?

Books #3

I was told by somebody recently that they don’t read because they don’t have time. I found that interesting because to me that is saying, I don’t have time to learn. I’d rather figure it out the hard way. To be honest I am good reader but I never really enjoyed it until I realized that I could learn a lot more from others than I could trying to figure it out on my own and I realized very quickly that the pain was less harsh. I hope you take the chance to read and allow others to instill wisdom into your life…once again these are a few more books that are shaping me and the ministry I lead.

Help, I’m A Student Leader, What Matters Most, Refuel by Doug Fields, Saddleback Church and Simply Youth Ministry

Starving Jesus by Craig Gross and JR Mahon founders of XXX Church

In a Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson, Lead Pastor of National Community Church

Max Q by Andy Stanley, Lead Pastor of North Point Community Church

Youth Ministry 3.0 by Mark Oestreicher, President of Youth Specialties  This is the book that is currently challenging me and affirming me.  I have believed for a very long time that the way student ministry was being done was losing it’s effectiveness.  I so badly want churches to see how important before the age of eighteen is.  I thought the ideas that Mark shared in this book come from his extensive history working in middle school and his heart to see our impact to be a movement not an emotional gust.