Not Happy

I'm not happy. 

I'm restless, fidgety and having a hard time focusing on anything. 

My soul is troubled and my mind is perplexed. 

The status quo is unacceptable and I refuse to pretend everything is OK when it's not. 

If things continue this way, I'm done.

Most Pastors would be content with a congregation of 200+, no debt on the church, hitting all of our goals for the past year, a stable cash flow and a recent 100% vote of confidence from the membership but I'm not.  Don't get me wrong....  I'm thankful.  I love our people and love my job, but there's something down in my spirit that refuses to believe that this is the pinnacle of what God has called us to.  I've reached a place of divine discontent  which is really a positive thing.  Here's why:

We cannot fully embrace vision for the future until we have become dissatisfied with the status quo. 

My discontent tells me it is time to fully embrace what God intends for Fountain of Life to be in 2011 and beyond.  What God has done these past 15 months is amazing and its importance for the life of the church cannot be minimized.   Understand this: until we as a church are living out the great commission in the context of the vision God has placed before us, we are no threat whatsoever to the Kingdom of darkness.  For over a year we've focused on relational connections and implementation of our discipleship model.  Now we need people to disciple.  We need conversions and a full-on demonstration of what life in God's Kingdom is all about.  As our guest speaker last Sunday so eloquently put it: We've corssed over, now we need to get out of the boat because something supernatural is waiting for us there.  

I will not rest at night until we are there and then I pray that God will once again stir up my divine discontent with the status quo.  It is that divine discontent that paves the way for new vision to be heard and embraced. 

Where's your discontent?  What's keeping you in the boat?

Is Really Such a Thing as a Move of God?

As I typed the title to this week's post I thought to myself "this could ruffle some feathers" I'm not trying to ruffle feathers but I really want to generate some discussion on this topic because I hear the phrase "move of God" dropped from the mouth of preachers and congregants alike. Usually it's in a context as follows: 

• "We really had a move of God last Sunday"
• "What our church really needs isn't another program, but a move of God"
• "God only moves when people......(you fill in the blank)"
• "There's a great move of God happening in.....(insert city/country name here)"  

I'm sure if you've been in church for long you've either heard or used one of those phrases or others like them. For sometime I've wrestled with the term "move of God" and pondered its meaning. What defines a move of God? In Pentecostal/Charismatic experience a "move of God" is usually measured by a few factors: the number of people slain in the Spirit, the amount of time spent in worship and intercession or the number of meetings that have taken place (5 nights a week for 2 years etc...) I've come to the conclusion that it's probably one of 3 things:

 

1. A purely subjective term that is defined by the person and/or group of people experiencing it.

 

2. Something so great, awe-striking, life-changing, city changing and amazing that it can't be defined in human terms.

 

3. It doesn't exist at all. (What I mean by this is that God is perpetually moving and active in the hearts and lives of people and all we have to do to find Him is to Seek Him.)

 

Rather than give my opinion here in the blog, let's discuss it. This should be lively.

If I Only Had the Nerve....

The Cowardly Lion in the "Wizard of Oz" story lacked what many of us lack at times when it comes to facing things head on - Courage.  Remember his #1 hit?

"Yeah, it's sad, believe me Missy, When you're born to be a sissy, Without the vim and verve
But I could show my prowess, Be a lion, not a mowess If I only had the nerve."

Truth is, we are all born with a level of courage.  We aren't born to be "sissies," (if you don't believe me, you need to observe kids - they'll try almost anything with no fear) but over time, fear creeps into the equation and stops us from acting courageously in life and in leadership.  This past week, Gwen and I along with our Youth Pastor attended the Catalyst West Conference in California and the theme of the conference was "Take Courage." 

When it comes to leadership, you have to have "the nerve" otherwise your organization will never progrss beyond its current reality nor reach its full potential.  Churches that play it safe all the time and lack courageous leadership are doomed to wallow in the pits of mediocrity and never fully impact their communities for the sake of the Gospel.  I walked out of that conference determined to lead courageously and not allow the organization I lead fail to reach its full potential.  That may involve some risks, but ultimately, didn't Christ demonstrate the ultimate courageous risk for the sake of humanity? 

My favorite quote from Catalyst West came from the keynote talk Andy Stanley gave:  "A single act of courage can become the tipping point for something extraordinary to happen in your life." 

It takes courage not only to lead, but to live vicariously in these uncertain times.  Where do you need something extraordinary to happen in your experience?  Leadership, personal finance, your business, your marriage, with your children?  Do you need to act courageously in one of these areas - make a tough decision, launch a new initiative, have a difficult conversation, face an uncomfortable conflict head on?  That one single act of courage may be the tipping point for something extraordinary to happen.  It takes nerve to lead and live and we don't want to look back on our experiences and wonder what would have happened if we'd only had the nerve.  Be courageous. 

Who Needs a GPS?

All I wanted for Christmas this past year was a GPS and my wife got me one (see picture below).  A month later it was stolen and since it cost substantially less than our homeowner's insurance deductible, I wrote it off as a loss.  It probably won't make a dent on my itemized deductions, but life goes on. 

This week, Gwen and I are taking a couple of personal days on the central California coast before attending the Catalyst West Conference in Irvine.  This morning I left our San Luis Obispo hotel in search of a coffee shop (Notice I didn't use the 'S' word - we just wanted something better than the complimentary in-room packets that are nothing more than a slight upgrade from Auto Repair shop coffee).  Armed with only the Google Maps app on my phone, I set out.  30 minutes later I was still trying to figure out  the flawed Google maps while bemoaning the fact that my "real" GPS would have had me back in my room with a fresh brew in hand and the perfect start to the day. 

Finally I got an address, turned off the phone app and set out on my own.  I've always had a good sense of direction so I used my inward navigational instincts and within 3 minutes, I found the coffee shop, got the drinks and the aroma is filling the room as I write this.  

As we search for direction in life, too often we look to external sources that are flawed and lacking in real substance.  Christ gave us the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us into all truth, so in reality He (the Spirit) is our inner GPS.  I understand we need and should seek external counsel, but sometimes when we can't find a Pastor, leader or trusted friend we just need to shut off all the things around us that are flawed and trust our inward navigational instincts that only the Holy Spirit can provide.  You may be surprised at how quickly you can find your way.

Leveraging Your Assigned Task

This year I have been challenging our church (Fountain of Life - Phoenix, AZ) to Be Intentional in all we do, especially when it comes to staying on mission.  You cannot be a follower of Christ and divorce yourself from His commission to make disciples of the nations.  As I frequently say to the people at FLI, "The Great Commission is not Optional."  Yet while most followers of Christ understand this, they get overwhelmed somehow thinking that it is solely their responsibility or their church's responsibility to carry it out.  (Insert deep breath here and relax).  It's not.   Watch what Paul said to a 1st century group of Christ-followers at Corinth.

1 Cor 3:5

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task. (NIV)

That word "assigned" is used over 400 times in the New Testament and carries a significant weight in this context. While it has a wide variety of applications, here it refers to something that has been given and entrusted to you to administrate or steward or take care of. Paul is saying "look, Apollos and I are simply carrying out an assigned task from God to serve you and in that assignment we became channels, we became tools to bring you to faith in Christ."

Each of us carries this same assignment from God to be intentional about serving people and letting God use us to draw people to Him. We need to intentionally ask God to show us how to carry out our unique assignment and when we are all carrying out our assigned tasks and leveraging them for Kingdom Impact, the great commission will be fulfilled.



The question to ask yourself is: How can you leverage your assigned task for Kingdom Impact? 

Pentecostal ADHD?

Yesterday I got into an intersting email discussion with some colleagues about the attention span of a congregation, specifically a Pentecostal/Charismatic one.  In 2009, former Presidential Advisor David Gergen was inteviewed by Bill Hybels at Willow Creek's Leadership Summit and stated that the most effective speeches were 15-20 minutes in length.  He further stated that if a speaker goes beyond the 30-35 minute mark, 75% of the listeners have checked out.  When it comes to preaching, does the same principle apply?  

Pentecostal Preachers in general tend to go well beyond the 35 minute mark.  If Gergen's assessment is true, the question we have to ask ourselves is this:  "Do our congregations check out after 35 minutes or do they suffer from Pentecostal ADHD and need Holy Spirit ridilin to get through our oratories?  After 20 years of this, I think it's the former.

Here's my take on why we preach too long:  Preachers fear not having enough material when the reality is we tend to pack too much into a single message. I'm guilty of this and I have preached in series ever since my wife told me several years ago after a Sunday morning, "That was a great series you preached today." 

I was trained to believe that preparation was key (and it is).  Further, the more prepared you were the less likely a congregation would be able to sniff out an unprepared message. But I believe in our quest to be good preachers we have failed to become good communicators of truth. In our passion to move an audience emotionally we have at times lacked the communication skill to motivate them to practical action. If a message leaves a listener feeling good at noon Sunday and marveling about how great the message was but it doesn't translate to practical action at 8:00 AM Monday morning, we have not done our job. When I listen back to my own podcasts (something we should always do) I always pick out 10 minutes of fat I could have easily trimmed and the message would have been just as effective.

Old habits die hard but I am up to the challenge to make sure I effectively communicate truth.

What do you say? 

Snowed in And Unplugged

I am in Happy Jack, AZ this weekend with my wife's family celebrating my father-in-law's 70th birthday.  About 25 miles somewhere south of here, AT & T has service.  That simply means I have no connection to the world via my smartphone.  My kids quickly point out that if we had Verizon we would have service.  It's a tired argument with me.  I'm not switching. 

I was finally able to wrestle my sister-in-law's laptop and wireless aircard away from the kids and get after it.  Situations like this make you realize how depedent we are on technology to stay connected with the world.  Yet there has been something peaceful about this weekend.  No constant barrage of text messages or email.  Yet we are having very meaningful family connection as the snow falls in north central AZ. 

By the time many of you read this you will realize I didn't make it to church today.  While I miss my congregation, I am still fulfilling the vision of the house by making meaningful connections.  Snowed in and unplugged isn't so bad after all. 

Visitation

This past Saturday night I had a dream that had profound spiritual significance.  I shared it with my congregation Sunday morning, but I thought it would be good to blog about it for those who may not have been there. 

In this dream I was with our congregation for weekend services.  I saw many of our current congregants as well as many new faces I had never seen before.  (Hopefully this represents future growth at FLI).  It was also in a different building which gives me hope that one day we will outgrow our current facility. 

As the service progressed, an individual whom I had never met came into the service and began moving one by one to individuals ministering to them.  With each person, this ministering individual was transformed into a dove which obviously represents the Holy Spirit.  The wingspan of the dove stretched outward and the feet of the dove were placed directly on the person He was ministering to.  At the same moment, those being ministered to were transformed into little children with fathers, mothers, grandfathers, etc... laying hands on them and speaking blessing.  This went on for a long time as many individuals were touched in the same way.

Here's what I believe God is saying to you and the congregation of FLI through this dream.  The Holy Spirit is about to visit you and this congregation in a very real, tangible way and the promises and blessings that have been locked up in your life and household for (in some cases) many generations will come to pass.  There are many that have had words of prophecy, and blessings pronounced on them by their spiritual fathers and grandfathers that have not yet been realized and many are losing their confidence in what has been spoken and promised.  The Lord says not to lose heart for He has made these promises to you and even to your children. 

So to quote Bishop T.D. Jakes, "Get ready, get ready, get ready, get ready, get ready."  

I pray this is an encouragement to all of you.   

Set in Stone

Last week I began a series a messages at Fountain of Life that I have been preparing for months titled "Extreme Makeover - Home Edition."  I was really disappointed that because of a technical glitch, only the last 6 minutes of the message got recorded.  With that, I thought I would post the sermon transcript in its entirety here on my blog page for those who may have missed the message and want to get the foundational priciples I laid down for this series. Bear in mind a transcript may not flow in perfect wirting style.   Enjoy!

I think the danger in starting an entire 8 week campaign about family life is that as soon as I say the word “family,” people automatically have images that come to their mind of what a family is. You may hate your family or you may be ashamed of them and want to hide them away. The old saying is, "you can pick your friends but you’re stuck with your family." Quite honestly, from my observation, the church has traditionally viewed the subject of family and home life through the highly filtered lens of 1950’s and 1960’s Television.

Things I Don't Get

Ah, the joys of getting older.  At (almost) 42, I am roughly at the half way point of my life.  From this vantage point I have now seen multiple generations - how they act and how they think - and even though I understand a lot of what culture brings to the table with each generation, there are still some things I don't get.  I've been chewing on this for a while and some of the things on this list you may be able to attrtibute to my age, but have fun and enjoy this mid-summer vacation rant of mine.

The Backward Baseball Cap

When I was in Little League, the hat being worn backwards was a way to unify the team around a cause like coming from behind to win a game.  We would say "Rally Cap Time!" and all turn our hats backward to spur the team on to victory.  Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't but over the years the backward ball cap has become some kind of renegade fashion statement (see Tom Brady in the pic to the right) that supposedly looks cool. 

Now the way I understand the construction of a cap, the purpose of the bill (or brim as it is sometimes referred to) is to shield the eyes from the glare of the sun or lights, thus to aid the process of "seeing."  It seems to me that wearing the cap backwards defeats the purpose of wearing the cap in the first place.  Wearing the cap backwards? I Don't get it.

Pants on the Ground (Also known as "Letting the World See Your Underwear")

Long before Larry Platt made the phrase into a song during American Idol Season 9, guys (and some girls) have gone to great lengths to insure that the world gets a great view of their underwear - usually boxers or boxer briefs and normally plaid or dark in color.  Admittedly we used to let the fringe of our boxers hang out the bottom of our gym shorts which usually led to a few extra laps, but he first time I remember seeing the pants-on-the-ground phenomena was at a youth camp in Prescott around 2003 or 2004.  Unverified rumor has it that the style became vogue from the prison culture where they supposedly issue one-size-fits-all clothing, resulting in smaller inmates having baggy pants and, thus, showing their chonies for all to see.  As the story goes, when prisoners were released they liked the look so much they kept wearing it and soon it became a cultural fashion statement, much like the aforementioned Backwards Ball Cap. 

Again I have to look at design intent.  Underwear, by definition, is to be worn "under" the outer wear, thus invisible to the eye.  When I was a kid, just the mention of underwear was funny and elicited a chuckle from my neighborhood buddies.  Who doesn't remember the playground chant "I see London, I see France, I see (name inserted) underpants."  It was humiliating then to have your underwear seen and now humiliation is lost as underwear is readily available for viewing at schools, shopping malls, and city streets.  And must I mention that a pant's waist size is measured around the actual waist and not the lower hips or thighs?  Pants on the ground?  I don't get it.

Smart Cars

Maybe this is purely a result of being an American and liking big things, but I just can't wrap my mind around the concept of driving a car that looks like a toy out of a Fisher-Price Catalog.  Actually, Smart Cars go back to the early 90's when Dailmer-Benz and the makers of the Swatch watch got their heads together to come up with a car that would blend the engineering genius of Mercedes-Benz with the funky design creativity of Swatch.  Obviously European and heavily touted by the environmental community, the Smart Car boasts fuel economy of 33/41.  I would love that gas mileage, but for someone who has 5 kids, this vehicle isn't even an option.  

When I see these things I wonder how they would ever survive a crash against, say, an American Ford 350 Pickup truck.  I couldn't find a picture of that, but when I saw this next pic, it sealed the deal for me that I would rather take my chances in a bigger car.  Smart Cars?  I don't get it.

Soccer (AKA Futbol)

Yes, I know that soccer is the world's game and I'm keenly aware of its popularity among America's youth (at least among the mom's who want a safe sport for their kids), but to me, watching a soccer game is about as exciting as watching 2 mimes play pretend chess.  Since I was in the 2nd grade I have been told of how soccer will one day take over in America as the #1 professional sport and we will finally be in step with the rest of the world.  Hear me now folks - It ain't gonna happen. 

I could devote an entire blog to this one thing but if soccer hasn't caught on in this country beyond elementary school by now, it's never going to happen.  Yes, there is a passing interest every 4 years when it's World Cup time, but once the USA is bounced out of the tournament (usually by Ghana or Usbekistan or some other country with a population the size of South Dakota), the interest is gone.  A few quick reasons why I don't get soccer:

• Scoring (or better yet, the lack thereof).  The reason the announcers go crazy - "Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllll"  is because it happens so rarely.  
• Extra Time.  What's up with that?  No one knows how long the extra time is, it just goes until the referee waves his hand and calls it a day.  Fans and announcers are in the dark.  
• Fouls.  Apparently in soccer a ref can call a foul on someone and not explain what the foul actually was.  Even in the NBA which is the worst officiated sport on the planet, the ref has to indicate what the foul was.  If I was playing and had a foul called on me, I would want to know what is was so I didn't repeat the offense and potentially cost my team a "Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllll."

Soccer (Futbol)?  I don't get it.  

I'm sure I could come up with a few more things I don't get such as Lady Gaga, Hip Hop music and Reality TV, but I guess I will save some things for another mid-summer vacation rant.  I would love your comments and maybe to hear a few things you don't get.  Thanks for reading.    

Face Time

Gen 3:8"...Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden."
NKJV

Sunday morning during an amazing worship time at our church I received a revelation about relationships.  For thousands of years the only realy way to communicate with an individual in a relational context was to speak face to face.  Letters could be written but could not replace sitting with someone face to face, dialouging about life and growing in knowledge of one another.

Over the years, communication tools increased through the use of the telephone, email, text messaging, Skype and internet social networking tools such as Facebook.  All of these are great tools but cannot replace old fashioned face to face communication.  Now I am an avid user of technology to communicate with people but when it comes to deepening relationships and growing in the knowledge of another person, nothing replaces face time.  There is something about sitting down with an individual live and in person that is special and can never be replaced.

Communication today is fast and easy.  Recently a young man started attending our church and I had not yet had an opportunity for face time with him.  I was at a Phoenix Suns game with one of our church leaders and this young man sent a friend request to my Facebook page which was alerted to me on my phone.  I accepted the friend request and within minutes he sent me a text message asking for a meeting.  We replied back and forth and within 5 minutes had set up a time and place to meet so we could become better acquainted.  Not one phone call had been made and not one word had been spoken yet a meeting had been set up.  Still, everything pointed to the eventual face time we would have.  Many people, however, are content to live their relational lives hiding behind Facebook, My Space, emails and text messages to satisfy their relational needs and then wonder why there is no depth of commitment or satisfaction.  People tend to hide from face time and find their relational lives lacking in fulfillment.

One of the great dangers of our day is treating our relationship with God the same way.  How nice would it be for God to text us His plan and purpose for our lives?  How awesome would it be to receive God's daily blog customized just for us with a full outline of what we needed to do that day.  It would save time, right?  Perhaps.  But it would cost us something in the long run - a deepening relationship with the Almighty. 

Adam and Eve hid themselves from the Presence of the Lord.  The word "presence" is found over 2000 times in the Old Testament and literally means "Face."  So after the fall, instead of seeking face time to restore the broken relationship with God, they hid themselves from face time much like we do today.  Sermon podcasts, Pastor's blogs and devotional books are no substitute for real face time with God.  Don't buy into the relational culture of our day that is content to hide from face time.  God still wants it and so should we.   

2 Cor 3:18

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
NKJV

Below is an article I wrote for The Pentecostal Messenger which was published in the June, 2010 issue.

Patience

When we moved into our current home in 2005, we inherited 3 trees that graced our back yard. Problem was, with half the yard taken by a rather large swimming pool, we needed more space for our 5 kids to have room to play. Since the next door neighbor wasn’t willing to give us any of his backyard space, it was obvious that two of the trees had to go.

The first to get the pink slip was a rather healthy fig tree. It was a beautiful tree but an easy choice because we don’t like figs. (I tried a Fig Newton once and, uh, well….anyway) The next choice was harder because it came down to a lemon tree and an orange tree. We like both fruits, so we chose to keep the orange tree based on the amount of shade it provided for my BarBQ area – which in Arizona is extremely important. The three trees were all different in which type of fruit they bore, but there was one common thread between them: Not once did I ever have to stand in the backyard and say to the trees in my best preacher voice “BEAR FRUIT, O TREE OF MINE.” (That would have been weird and provided unnecessary entertainment for the neighbors) It was in the DNA of the tree for fruit to come forth, a byproduct of what the tree was.

Low Flow Leaders

A few weeks back I was walking throug Home Depot and saw an end cap display promoting low flow shower heads.  My mind went back to a Men's Camp our church did several years ago in Prescott.  The campground had these low flow shower heads installed to suposedly save money on water.  My brother-in-law, who is in the plumbing wholesale business had been to this campground the previous year and remembered how frustrating it was to take a shower with one of these shower heads.  Right before camp started he went to his truck, pulled out a new Delta shower head that was normal flow, and installed it on one of the showers in the bath house.  I don't mind telling you that guys lined up to use the "high-flow" shower head.

OK, before anyone accuses me of not being green, let me say that we do have a responsibility to steward the planet.  God gave us that mandate in the beginning but in reality, I'm not convinced that low-flow shower heads are an end-all to conservation.  In fact, as I have travelled over the years I've been in numerous hotels that have these devices, and they have been nothing but a source of frustration for me.  (I may be the only one, but this is my blog)

As I left Home Depot a thought hit me.  I sent it out on my Twitter  www.twitter.com/jonj8368 and here's the thought: 

"Poor leaders are like low-flow shower heads.  They take twice as long to get the job done and frustrate everyone underneath them." 

Leaders are responsible for the flow of the organization or group they lead.  It doesn't matter how well we delegate within our organizational structure, it all rises and falls on the leader.  Those under the flow of our leadership deserve a flow that will get the job done effectively, efficiently and in such a way to move the organization forward.  I am processing a lot of other thoughts along the lines of shower-head leadership.  I would love your thoughts and comments as I unpack this further.

Men's Camp Day 3 (Continued)

Jerry Zovne closed out camp with a talk about Lifestyle Breakthrough. 

Our Lifestyle determines our direction which determines our destination.

• Giving is not a Sunday Event
• Working for Whom?
• Feelings?  Yes, you have Them
• Love is a Verb

Giving is not a Sunday Event (Luke 11:39-42)
Develop a militant attitude about giving.  Find a need and give aggrssively, not when I....

(Ps 82:3-4)  The Kingdom is found among the needy

Working for Whom?  (Gen 2:2-3; Prov. 18:9)
God works - His work is all good
Jesus worked, we are made in His image so work is a gift.  (John 9:3-5)

We should work hard; Our work sould be good; We are the light of the world at work;

Feelings, Yes you do!  Now What? (Col. 3:12-13)

Burn the followng clothes:  anger, hard-heratedness, offense, impatience.  Replace with clothes of mercy, kindness, humility, patience and forgiveness.

Love is a Verb

Men's Camp Day 3

Marty Hatley opened the morning session after an great season of worship.  Subject "Work." 

Work by definition is an exertion or effort designed to accomplish something.  God isn't going to do everything for us.  We have to do our part in the relationship. 

Prov 22:15 - We all have areas of foolishness in our lives that need to be driven out by the rod of discipline. 

We exert effort with God, at work, our marriage, etc....

What is the process of work?  (Gen 3:17) Nothing is accomplished without hard work.  (Noah, Christ)

165 references and 149 verses specifically related to work.  The rub comes in because we're lazy.  What do we need to do?

Who's Your Lawnmower?  (The person in your life who will kick your butt and sharpen us up)  WE need to be open to give and receive constructive criticism.  Peace at all costs breeds mediocrity.  Speak the truth in love.

1.  Have the Right Tone
2.  Have the Truth
3.  Have the Right Timing

Don't shy away from it.    Put people around you who will mow your lawn.

Watch what we yoke ourselves up with.  Take Christ's yoke upon you and learn from Him.  What are some dangerous yokes?

Traditions
Self Justification
Work Avoidance
Addiction

Another word for yoke is "balance."  So how do we do all this?

1.  Evaluate (Things that get monitored get improved)
2.  Ask 
3.  Act

Men's Camp 2010 Day 2

Barrier-Breaking Worship led by Jason Chavez and Mike Mrozinski. A great, extended time in God’s Presence. Sam Casey batted lead-off for the morning sharing from his heart 3 questions God asked him

 

• What do we want God to do in our lives?
• What does God want to do in our lives?
• What’s in our life that’s stopping God from doing it? (Ps. 139:23-24)

 

Tim Condon was next, speaking from Deuteronomy 2:24

 

He had some amazing quotes.

 

“Faith is reaching into emptiness, grabbing hold of nothing and holding on until it becomes something”

 

“Faith is the ability to live without scheme”

 

“The Kingdom of God advances through a series of glorious victories cleverly disguised as disasters.”

 

• Rise Up (Be established, be fixed)
• Take Your Journey (Keep your eyes focused on God, not something or someone else) Ps. 73
• Cross the River Arnon (The obstacle that stood between Israel and the promise of God)
• Begin to Possess What God Has for Your Life and Engage the Enemy in Battle

Great word, Tim!

 

After an extended altar time with significant ministry, James Roberts took over and spoke about the elements necessary to break the sound barrier. It took 50 tries in the F-1 to break the sound barrier. On the 50th time, Chuck Yeager broke through after years of determined effort and learning from the failures of those around them. We need to enlist the help of others who have broken through and with the right determination and perseverance, we can break through.

 

• They Had an Identified Challenge
• They Had a Desire to Meet the Challenge
• They Had a Plan of Action
• They Gathered Resources to Accomplish the Task
• They Had a Determination to Finish the Task

Romans 15:4

Nehemiah rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem in 52 days.

 

Men's Camp 2010 Day 1 - Final

A major wreck on Hwy 260 delayed many of the guys for several hours. 10 of us went to dinner at a local dive called “Nik L Niks Fish and Chips.” It was really quite good and I think our tips were a blessing to the sole proprietor running the place. We came back to camp for some worship and sharing about our expectations for the weekend. Some of the thoughts were……

• God is setting the guys up for getting their lives in sync
• Some haven’t found their place in the house and this weekend they will find their connection point
• Cultivate an atmosphere in the house where men can flourish and thrive
• Deepening relationships with other men beyond Sundays
• If I die, I want there to be enough evidence in my life that I was a Christian
• One of our 20-somethings said he wants to learn and grow from watching the older men in the church live their lives out before him. (No pressure)
• God is raising up troops to surround the new leadership of the church
• God wants to entrust us with things that are way beyond what we’re doing now. We have to trust first before He will trust us.
• God is going to open our collective understanding to Peter Wendt’s movies
• Another 20-something wants to find his place – where he fits. Awesome!!
• One of our teens – “Go back as warriors with the armor on”

Amazing expectations.  Pray for the guys that are coming up early in the morning.

Men's Camp Day 1 Continued

A round of a modified version of "21" (Basketball) with BRandon Bowman, Matt Nord, Colin Wendt, and Brandon Painter.  Young Mr. Painter wins.  I feel old.

Men's Camp 2010 Day 1

I'm blogging this weekend from the FLI Men's Camp from Camp Shadow Pines in Heber.  Keep checking back for periodic updates as the weekend progresses.  We will also be posting updates and pictures on the FLI Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=110911168929875#!/pages/Phoenix-AZ/Fountain-of-Life-International/110911168929875

Had a great ride up with James Roberts, Peter and Colin Wendt, and Matt Nord.  After lunch at El Rancho Mexican Restaurant in Payson (which I don't recommend - bad enchilada sauce), we arrived at the grounds around 3:00 pm.  Ricky and Brandon Painter along with Brandon Bowman arrived shortly after.

Excited about our theme, "Breaking the Barriers."  We are ready to rock!

PCG Vision Quest Afternoon Session

The Four Faces of Me


Ps 139 – I am fearfully and wonderfully made

Prov. 30:24-28

Until we know who we are we will not know how to relate to other people.

We are in ministry because we love people. Some become bitter towards people over time but we have to remember what we are called to do.

Solomon wrote down the 4 personalities in Proverbs 30 – characteristics and how they function. A leader has to understand the temperament of his/her self and those on his/her team. Jesus understood the strengths and weaknesses of his disciples. People are all individual but how they act can be predictable based on their temperament.

Four Basic Personality Types (We have 2 dominant but all 4 are within us)

1. Choleric
2. Sanguine
3. Melancholy
4. Phlegmatic

In Prov. 30, Solomon outlines these 4 personalities with the animals he uses. You have to recognize your personality.

The Ant

This is the goal oriented personality. They’re strength gives them their determination. They are incredibly focused, yet temperamental. The ant is aggressive and confrontational. Rude, bossy, pushy, don’t care who they offend but they get the job done. 3% of the population has this and they get things done.

Biblical example – Paul (Acts 9:15)

We need people in our ministries like this who will have a fire in them and get things done even if we have to deal with their negatives

The Locust

The Party personality – the networkers. No one uniquely stands up to lead them but because of their networking they stay together. Locusts do no do well alone but they devastate land when they band together. They love to socialize and do things in a group. Talking is their main pastime. They would rather talk than work. Emotional, optimistic, and encouraging. Very demonstrative. Great at getting people together.

Biblical Example – Peter (John 18:10-11) (Matt 17:4ff)

The Conie


The team player. Conies are large rock rabbits. They have the ability to move very quickly. In the wild they will stand on guard and look out for the team in case anyone is in danger. They are comfortable and safe in the environments of peace and serenity. Nearly 70% of people have this. Loyal, team players, family oriented people.

Biblical Example – Barnabas

The Spider

The analyzer. The perfectionist. They are loners, and probe the crack and crevices of a dwelling until they get to the King’s place. They are high achievers and probe until they reach their goals.

Biblical Example – John

We have all four of these in us – 2 are dominant. We have to understand who we are and then understand who the people we lead are.

“Build on our strength, recognize your weakness”

This was a great session.  You can unpack more of this in Florence Littauer's classic book "Personality Plus."

The perfect team is present when you have all 4 working together.  As Pastors, we need to evaluate those on our team and use their personalities to the fullest by plugging them into ministries that fit.

There is an online personality plus test based on this book.  Here is the link
 
Pers. Plus Test