oh yeah! my st louis cardinals won the world series on my birthday! i needed no other presents!
Sunday, October 29, 2006
WORLD CHAMPIONS!
oh yeah! my st louis cardinals won the world series on my birthday! i needed no other presents!
different people
people are different - in the church that is. well, really, all over. but today i had one of those days where i realized people are different. i had conversations with two ladies. one lady said she had visited in the past and had told a family member who attends our campus that we were not friendly. she thanked me for talking to her. as we continued to talk, i found out she was what i will call a churched person who was very involved in her church.
later in the day, i had another lady come up to me who was here from germany. she is working here and came up to me and thanked me. i wondered what the thanks were for and she answered the question in my head. she said when she came here she was lost and lonely and she found a place to connect. plus, she thanked us for helping her connect with God and Jesus. she hoped when she headed back to germany that she could find a church like ours to be a part of.
people are different. not saying one is bad and one is good. just that people are different.
interesting...
later in the day, i had another lady come up to me who was here from germany. she is working here and came up to me and thanked me. i wondered what the thanks were for and she answered the question in my head. she said when she came here she was lost and lonely and she found a place to connect. plus, she thanked us for helping her connect with God and Jesus. she hoped when she headed back to germany that she could find a church like ours to be a part of.
people are different. not saying one is bad and one is good. just that people are different.
interesting...
Thursday, October 26, 2006
st louis cardinals
4-3, top of the 8th inning, 1 out, tying run at 3rd - can my boys pull this one out?
i love the st louis cardinals! ever since the 5th grade. and i have never once stepped foot in st louis. just started pulling for them then because they were on their way to winning the world series and i was playing on a baseball team called the 'cards. it just fit.
so here i am 26 years later (DANG, i am old!), staying up way too late, hoping to see my guys pull this game out. if they take tonight's game, they are up 3 games to 1 and they will win the whole thing later this week. come on boys!
i love the st louis cardinals! ever since the 5th grade. and i have never once stepped foot in st louis. just started pulling for them then because they were on their way to winning the world series and i was playing on a baseball team called the 'cards. it just fit.
so here i am 26 years later (DANG, i am old!), staying up way too late, hoping to see my guys pull this game out. if they take tonight's game, they are up 3 games to 1 and they will win the whole thing later this week. come on boys!
vision
eyesight - i have to admit i have REALLY bad eyesight. i mean REALLY bad. so bad that i see strange things at night without my glasses on. scary as a kid let me tell you.
eyesight is an incredible gift we have! i can't imagine living my life without sight as many people do. it allows us to see our surroundings, and better yet, where we are going.
vision comes in another version too - where we are going as a leader, as a team, as a church (the setting i am in and most connected to) - vision is where you are going, your reason for existing, why you do what you do. i am learning in my context that vision does a few things...
eyesight is an incredible gift we have! i can't imagine living my life without sight as many people do. it allows us to see our surroundings, and better yet, where we are going.
vision comes in another version too - where we are going as a leader, as a team, as a church (the setting i am in and most connected to) - vision is where you are going, your reason for existing, why you do what you do. i am learning in my context that vision does a few things...
- vision leaks - you hear that but don't understand what it means until you begin to hear others talk about why your church exists to other people. it is great to sit back and hear what you feel you have beaten into the ground to come out of someone else's mouth.
- vision speaks - you get a reputation when your vision is different than other places. when your vision is similar to most churches, no one notices. but when your vision is different, people take notice. you become known in your community as the 'different place'.
- vision tweaks - when you talk about vision to people, it always help bring people back to where you want them to be. this isn't manipulative, it just helps to remind everyone why we do what we do. and many times, gets us back on track.
Monday, October 16, 2006
living in g-ville
last night - around 1 am, my wife and i see blue and red lights flashing all over the place and then we hear sirens! of course, we jump out of bed and wonder what the heck is happening. we look out our bedroom window which sits at the intersection of the two main roads in our section of the neighborhood. outside are 5 police cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck.
in the corner house, the police are inside and talking to people in the home. the next thing we hear is the police telling our neighbors to get inside because they were bringing in an FBI tracking dog! this place is awesome!
so the dog comes, they take him all around where our home is located looking for something. of course, my wife and i are sitting crouched at our open bedroom window listening and watching all of this unfold. this was better than COPS!
the dog passes our home again (good thing he didn't smell the 450 pounds of marijuana in my car trunk) and we hear the police yell at someone! "Who are you? Stop! Get down! Get down! I'm gonna take you down!" the dog starts barking (we were hoping they sent the dog to get the guy - as long as he doesn't get hurt - the man that is) and the police go running! they grab the guy and cuff him! man, this place is exciting!
turns out, we think (language barrier and window screen barrier) that this was a domestic dispute of some sort. not the first time at this home. our hope would be some stability would come to whoever lives there.
but MAN, living in G-ville is AWESOME! who needs downtown DC!?
in the corner house, the police are inside and talking to people in the home. the next thing we hear is the police telling our neighbors to get inside because they were bringing in an FBI tracking dog! this place is awesome!
so the dog comes, they take him all around where our home is located looking for something. of course, my wife and i are sitting crouched at our open bedroom window listening and watching all of this unfold. this was better than COPS!
the dog passes our home again (good thing he didn't smell the 450 pounds of marijuana in my car trunk) and we hear the police yell at someone! "Who are you? Stop! Get down! Get down! I'm gonna take you down!" the dog starts barking (we were hoping they sent the dog to get the guy - as long as he doesn't get hurt - the man that is) and the police go running! they grab the guy and cuff him! man, this place is exciting!
turns out, we think (language barrier and window screen barrier) that this was a domestic dispute of some sort. not the first time at this home. our hope would be some stability would come to whoever lives there.
but MAN, living in G-ville is AWESOME! who needs downtown DC!?
Sunday, October 15, 2006
attention
i hate it! really. it is not something i enjoy. i like to be encouraged by peers, but when it comes to doing ministry, attention is not something i look for. not sure why. i think i would rather help other people get attention and succeed and get accolades than myself. probably a good thing i am in ministry. of course i like people who are the same way. who aren't seeking attention but looking to help others.
but what does that look like? we are so needy today that many of us our looking - or seeking - attention. our marriages are failing, our relationships suck, we can't get a handle on our kids, work is work, so were is the one place we can go where we can get 'noticed'? the church. that is not a bad thing. but how are people getting 'better' and becoming un-noticed? how are people's lives changing beyond their own healing? how to we move people from one hurting to healed and helping other hurting people?
lots of questions floating in my head. not many answers.
but what does that look like? we are so needy today that many of us our looking - or seeking - attention. our marriages are failing, our relationships suck, we can't get a handle on our kids, work is work, so were is the one place we can go where we can get 'noticed'? the church. that is not a bad thing. but how are people getting 'better' and becoming un-noticed? how are people's lives changing beyond their own healing? how to we move people from one hurting to healed and helping other hurting people?
lots of questions floating in my head. not many answers.
Friday, October 13, 2006
lou holtz is smarter than me
leadership - two weeks ago i was watching the saturday night college football wrap-up show. lou holtz - talented ex-coach who has won mutiple ncaa championships - was asked about leadership. holtz said leadership relies on 3 things...
1 - vision
2 - a plan
3 - setting the example
how true is that for you? is the vision there? what about a plan? and it all falls apart if we aren't setting an example in our ministry areas.
it worked for holtz! think it can work for us?
1 - vision
2 - a plan
3 - setting the example
how true is that for you? is the vision there? what about a plan? and it all falls apart if we aren't setting an example in our ministry areas.
it worked for holtz! think it can work for us?
have a heart
forward - cause you got to move somewhere! Erwin McManus tells the story of a king who - when he died - had his heart put into a box. During war, the king's leader would carry the heart around his neck. During one battle that was very one-sided, the leader threw the box with the king's heart into the midst of the battle and said, "Forward! Fight for the heart of your king!" Needless to say, the king's followers jumped forward into the battle and won.
Sometimes we need a reminder. A reminder that it's not about us, but about moving forward and fighting for the heart of the king. We have a great opportunity to make a difference in Western Prince William County. The question remains though - are we willing to fight for the heart of the king, no matter what it takes?
Sometimes we need a reminder. A reminder that it's not about us, but about moving forward and fighting for the heart of the king. We have a great opportunity to make a difference in Western Prince William County. The question remains though - are we willing to fight for the heart of the king, no matter what it takes?
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