Membership Meeting Last Night!

Last night, we experienced an amazing membership meeting! There was an electric vibe in the air as so many leaders gathered who love this church and truly want to live as faithful followers of Jesus! I am including my notes below. In addition to my little talk, we enjoyed Worship, all Senior Staff members sharing what excites them most about church, a budget report from last year and the budget for 2010 - 11 presented by our Finance Team. I thank God for 685 amazing members at newhope - YOU really are the backbone of this church body! I love you all dearly and the best is yet to come!

Here are my notes in unedited fashion:

Annual Membership Meeting
August 30, 2010
7 pm

One of the best things we EVER did in the early days was we made membership actually mean something! At my previous church, all members received free burial plots. What is that all about? :-)

Not here – as such, our membership number will always be much smaller than our congregation. 2 – 3 K people come to this church now but 685 members are the core of this Christ centered community! And dare I say, that because of you, and the other members not here tonight, God has been growing a phenomenal church! Give someone a strong high five!

Seriously, we have always said the membership is the backbone of this body! You are the ones called upon to grow in the GRACE of God, GIVE the biblical tithe, do life in Small GROUPS, serve God’s church through your spiritual GIFTS, and GO into the world making disciples! And through your efforts and collective faithfulness, look at what God is doing in and through and among us!

I have been struck with 2 realities lately:

1. How this whole dealio is nothing less than a God thing!

2. How we have to steward this movement well. It is all so fragile and requires intentional leadership and stewardship.

Stewardship - The historical areas of struggle for church leadership has involved sexual sin and abuse of power involving money/finances--Satan uses these areas of vulnerability to undercut, interrupt, and sometimes destroy the Church--much to the disappointment of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ--I have talked openly about the precautions I have personally taken to protect my heart from sexual temptation and sin.

Please know I am also committed to making sure we protect the Church from financial related abuse of power--our goal is responsible oversight of our financial and operational activities, functions, policies, procedures, and decision-making.

As such, we have put together a brand new Finance Team that will help us lead this church with solid stewardship and transparency. You will hear from this team later tonight. Kuddos to Fran Helpingstine for putting together a first class team. We have a Personnel Team that I work closely with in terms of setting personnel compensation. We are understaffed around this church these days and still need to make up some ground on paying our staff what they deserve, but we are working diligently catch up and lead this church in a way commensurate with what she is becoming, which is a major force to be reckoned with.

And Satan is trying to do his own reckoning! Our goal, our prayer, is to NOT allow Satan to distract and disrupt our Church from our Mission to seek and save the lost nor to undercut the good we have already accomplished and break the hearts of those we serve.

ILLUSTRATION: How the Mighty Fall, by Jim Collins

Examples of those who have fallen: Bank of America, Circuit City, Motorola

Quote from page 3

The result – page 20

I see our greatest danger right now possibly being in stage 1. Not that we too prideful or arrogant, but that we have to resist it every step of the way and point people to the fact that this is nothing less than a GOD THING! We have to resist the hubris born of success! As we grow in popularity and more and more people find newhope, we will need to resist this tendency!

ILLUSTRATION: Motorola – cell phone technology was going digital instead antiquated. When that change was taking place, Motorola’s CEO said, "37 million customers can't be wrong." In the next 5 yrs, they lost the corner on the market and now they are all but extinct.

Collins then gives two key reasons why this happens, why this hubris of success stage kicks in? Other than the pride, two things happen – this is so pertinent for the church!

1. “Neglect of Primary Flywheel” What do you think he means by that? (Page 43) FOCUS – FOCUS – FOCUS!

2. Forgetting the Why!

Vision – Why do we REACH, TEACH, AND RELEASE?

5 G’s of Membership – why do commit to these? Let’s answer out loud!

Grow in GRACE

Do life together in Small GROUPS

Serve according to our GIFTS

Why do we GIVE 10 % of our income to God’s work in the world

Why do we GO into the world to invest and invite in people far from God?

Why? MAINLY BECAUSE THEY ARE NATURAL GROWTHS OF WHAT IT MEANS TO FOLLOW JESUS!

Conclusion

ILLUSTRATION: It Makes a Difference - There is a little story that comes from a book called the Star Fisher. Picture if you will an early morning along a California beach. An elderly man is walking along the edge of the water and stops occasionally, picks up something, and then tosses it into the ocean. He then walks a few steps more, picks up something, and tosses it into the ocean. A young jogger is running along and has been watching the man. Finally his curiosity gets the best of him and he stops and goes over to the old gentleman and asks: "Excuse me, what are you doing?"

The man answered: Well, I am saving the life of these star fish. The storm washed them ashore last night, the sun will be up in thirty minutes, and then they will all die. I am throwing them back into the water to save their lives.

The jogger was a bit astounded. Old man, he said, don't you know that you have thirty miles of beach ahead of you and that millions of those starfish were washed ashore last night. What possible difference do you think that you are going to make. The old man took another step picked up a star fish, and with all his might hurled it into the ocean, then turned to the jogger and said: "Well, son, I guess I made a difference in that one's life."

• Every time we teach a child that Jesus made them, loves them, and wants to be their very best friend – it makes a difference to that one child.
• Every time we disciple a student and equip him/her to live for Jesus during the challenges of adolescence – it makes a difference to that one student!
• Every time we get a person in a Small Group to experience community – it makes a difference to that one believer or soon to be believer!
• Every time we move a person from spectator Worship to fully engaged Worship – it makes a difference to that one follower of Jesus!
• Every time we get someone to move from complacent or selfish X to living for others outside the walls of this church through HOPE missions, it makes a profound difference in the life of that person.

GREAT CHURCHES ARE BUILT ONE PERSON AT A TIME!

“I feared the thought that my life might pass me by without God moving greatly on my behalf.” (Fresh Wind Fresh Fire, by Jim Cymbala)

Here’s the great news, beloved, God is moving greatly on our behalf. It is supernatural! Let’s stay focused, lazar sharp focused and let’s never forget why we are doing what we are doing. He is worthy and those we Reach, Teach, and Release are worth it!

Let’s pray together!

Bride with a Broken Heart - Part II

Already Longing for Sunday!

I usually get fired up about Sundays on or around Friday afternoon and it stayed that way through the beginning of Worship. However, something is happening inside of my spirit this particular week and I am already stink'in stoked about part two of our new series titled, “A Bride with a Broken Heart.”

Part of that, I believe, is because Sunday was such a strong day. In my humble opinion, I think last Sunday was one of the best Worship Celebrations we have ever experienced at newhope. That sentiment has been reaffirmed by many newhopers this week. Part of that, I believe, is because we are clearly cranking into that exciting fall season in the life of the church. August has become the new September in the church and you can simply sense the ground swell taking place as everyone comes off of the summer scatter and starts to settle back into the habits of school, church, work, etc...

But part of my excitement, I know, is because of what I am already sensing God is going to do this coming Sunday at newhope. I will be speaking on the message found in Ephesians 3 as the apostle Paul talks about being rooted and established in love. In addition, we have two incredible video elements coming together that I am hoping will reinforce the biblical message and practically equip us to be more faithful to the Gospel! In addition to that, I have looked over the song list and the music is going to be anointed as Adam and Micah co-leads Worship!

Can I ask you to go ahead and pray for Sunday? Can I ask you to go ahead and invite some friends? This is a season in which people are open to new habits and invitations to church. Seize the season, newhope, and let's watch God do immeasurably more than we can hope or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)

See you Sunday!

Bride with a Broken Heart - Part I

Iron Sharpening Iron

I have about 6 hours before I catch flight back home later today. I miss my family BIG time and can't wait to see Amy Lynn and the kiddos.

It feels good to have a little time just to catch up on blogging, the sermon for Sunday, and other lose ends. As such, I thought I would give an update on what in the world I have been doing in South Dakota this week.

Every year, the four guys in the pic above spend 5 - 6 days together with the sole purpose of having lots of fun and sharpening one another in the process. Since riding Harley Davidsons is a passion for each of us, our trip always includes riding bikes. We ride all day long, stopping every hour or so, to talk about ministry, family, balancing the two, challenges we are facing, our churches, leading on the next level etc... We ask penetrating questions and never accept fluffy and/or easy answers. We talk about our joys, our frustrations, and the hard core nitty gritty challenges of leading growing movements to the glory and honor of Jesus. We understand one another and our unique challenges and our friendships and annual trips just getter better with every passing year.

It is the best example, in my life anyway, of that great verse in Proverbs that says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. ." (Proverbs 27:17) These men sharpen me every time I am with them. I am a better dad because of these dudes. I am growing as a follower of Jesus because of their contagious love for Christ. I am becoming a better pastor, in all aspects, because of this time we spend together every year. My leadership capacity increases because of the collective wisdom in this group. My heart for Christ and His ministry through me is expanded due to our friendships.

Kevin, Keith, and Craig - thanks for your iron sharpening friendship and the thousands and thousands of miles we have cruised together. I am eternally grateful for you and how God uses you in my life and ministry! Until next year brothers, keep it in the wind and may the wind of God's Holy Spirit blow strong in and through your ministries and families.

Butt Prints in the Sand

I have received multiple requests for a copy of the Butt Prints in the Sand poem I shared on Sunday. Here you go - I LOVE THIS, BTW. This is hilarious but most importantly, it is also chopped full of good theology!

-----

One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.

But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, “what have we here?”
Those prints are large and round and neat,
“But Lord, they are too big for feet.”

“My child,” He said in somber tones,
“For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to step out in faith,
But you only asked, “What’s that about?”

“You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know,
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt.”

“Because in life, there comes a time,
To take that step, to decide to climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand.”

(This is a tweaked version of the original "Footprints in the Sand" Poem)

One Prayer - Unstoppable Life and Some Sunday Reflections from 30,000 Feet Up!

• Today was a REALLY good day at newhope. What's more - I really needed Worship today. It fed my spirit and soul and I needed every second of it.
  
• I shared with the church this am that last Sunday was the first time we ever had 100 students at !mpact and Pulse! (And it's Summer time)
• Salvation is Here is by far one of my favorite songs right now. The beat and the words rock!
• Tons of guests again this Sunday and the overwhelming majority of them are African American and Asians. That's a trip and straight from the heart of God!
• Right now, I am 30,000 feet high on a flight from the Twin Cities heading into Rapid City, South Dakota. Never been here before but really looking forward to doing life with three of my best friends in all the world.
  
• I already miss my fam BIG time. I'm looking forward to the travel slowing down. It's been one CRAZY summer!
• I miss Kenya. I miss Kiria. I miss Eunice and Joseph from Kenya! I love the bond that the 25 newhopers share every Sunday now after traveling and serving together.
• I loved preaching on the Unstoppable Life today. It is one my favorite subjects! Jesus said the Kingdom of God was at hand. That is present tense and not some futuristic pie in the sky fluff. It impacts us here and now and gives us life abundantly. (John 10:10)
• I am thoroughly enjoying my new assistant, Lucie Poulin. Can I just say, SHE IS THE BOMB! Lucie has been on staff for over a year now but just moved in to this new role. She was made for this role and I am sooooooo blessed!
• I love the newhope volunteers! From the student ministry, to the children's ministry, to First Contact, to Worship Arts - you folks are the best!
  
• We are starting to descend. Gotta go - peace out good people!