BLeach

Collecting Questions

I'm off to our leadership team's monthly planning meeting.  Tonight we'll be dreaming about some ministry strategies for the fall.  In preparation for our discussion I just finished a list of the top 34 questions we need to answer regarding our current decision.

The funny thing is, that's quite a change from my early days in church planting.  In those days I was prepared with 34 answers.  Never mind that they were often the top 34 answers to questions that no one was asking:)

Everybody says that the longer you live, the more you realize how much you've got to learn.  I'm starting to believe them.

Expect It

Had a great time this past weekend with our church at Weekend with God.  Sunday night was probably the highlight for me.  Sam taught us through the principle of turning vision into expectation by writing dreams down. 

As people arrived we gave them a half-sheet of paper and an envelope.  At the start of his message, Sam had everyone write their home address on the envelope.  Instead of taking notes during the teaching we all wrote down specific things we were expecting God to do in our lives over the next twelve months.

At the end of the service we sealed the envelopes and laid them on the altar.  In twelve months we'll mail them back to everyone. 

Yesterday we prayed over all the envelopes at our staff meeting.  It was one of those moments that makes me so grateful God called me to pastor.  I felt so fulfilled knowing that our people were dreaming for the impossible and expecting God to come through.  So cool to cast a positive picture over the future.  And I felt absolute anticipation for the wins that people will experience throughout the next year.

Then yesterday I met with Raina.  She turned in her envelope Sunday night and drove home to discover that God had already answered the number one expectation she had written on her list.  In less than twenty four hours! 

Take that Jack Bauer:)

I personally wrote down some things that freak me out when I think about them.  Must have been crazy when I wrote them down.  Or filled with faith.  Or a little of both:)  Fortunately one of my friends emailed me this morning to let me know that Jesus inspired her to pray courage over me yesterday. 

It takes courage to dream.  It takes even more guts to write those dreams down and put the weight of expectation behind them.  But is there a better way to live?

Check out Chilly

I started blogging eighteen months ago when two leaders inspired me to begin doing the hard work of turning thoughts and dreams into words.  One of them, Chilly Chilton, started blogging on Xanga in the early days of the blogosphere.  After 100,000 hits he's moved to Typepad.

Check out Insomnia Chronicles.

Chilly makes me laugh and cry.  And think.  And that's good:)

Not to mention we're working the same region.  So glad Chilly chose Hamtramck to plant Real Church.  God is stacking the Metro Detroit dream team for city transformation!

Good Boys

After a couple careless games we finally finished business with the Bulls.  So it's back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth straight year.

Some of my best memories go back to the Pistons and their playoff runs. 

I admit to being skeptical when Chris Webber decided to play basketball in Michigan again this year.  My final image of him playing in this state wasn't a good one.  Think timeout:(  But he's convincing me.  I've never seen Webber this fired up about basketball.  Could he be getting ready to give us all a new image?  One with champaigne and rings perhaps:)

Tonight I'm pulling for the Suns and Nets so that the remaining two series get pushed to the limit.  We need our rest:)

Weekend with God

Every May in our church we set aside one weekend to clear our calendars and prioritize God's Presence.  It's always one of the highlights of the year for me.  Hard to believe Weekend with God 2007 is already here!

I'm really pumped for the kickoff tomorrow night.  Sam Farina, one of my mentors, will be speaking in all of the services.  Check him out!  Sam actually taught me to preach!

If you're reading this blog then consider yourself invited.  We'd love to have you!  Click here if you need directions. 

Here's a recap of the schedule:

Friday Night @ 7.00 pm

Saturday Night @ 6.00 pm

Sunday Morning @ 9.00 and 11.00 am

Sunday Night @ 6.00 pm

I've always believed that our moments in God's Presence make possible our influence in this city.  If Metro Detroit is your mission field then join us for some revisioning!

Phone Calls for Jesus

Cheryl Floyd is my hero for the day!

I've been sitting in my office listening to her talk on the phone for the past three hours!  She's working her way down the phone numbers in our database, inviting people to church this weekend.  And she's not just leaving messages.  She's asking people about their lives and encouraging them.  For someone like me who can't talk on the phone more than five minutes without beginning to multi-task this is simply amazing.

I remember when I first met Cheryl.  She came to our office hoping to sell us a copy machine.  And she did.  Then she came to church and the rest is history!  It's been great to see her grow into a woman who loves Jesus and lives to serve His church.

By the way, I wonder if people sit outside my office listening to me talk on the phone:)

They've Got a Plan!

I've got to admit to feeling serious relief a few days ago when the producers of Lost announced their timeline for finishing the show.  After this season they will produce 48 more episodes.  The show will finish in 2010.

I hate Lost for the same reason I love it; the suspense.  Every episode drives you to the edge of a cliff and leaves you hanging there when it ends.

From time to time I've heard rumors that the writers of the show don't know where they're going with the story.  Maybe the're just toying with our emotions?  Maybe this plot has no purposeful conclusion?  Maybe they're just leading us in circles and messing with our heads?  Maybe this is all just one sick joke? 

Aren't these the great questions of life:)

Sometimes I feel like I'm living an episode of Lost.  I'm not talking about jungles and black smoke monsters.  I'm talking about the suspense. 

Unresolved questions. 

Cliff hanging season finales. 

Unpredictable twists and turns.

Here's the thing.  I'm more excited for Lost now than ever because I know the script is going somewhere pre-planned.  Suspense stinks if it's random.  But when it's meaningful there's nothing more compelling.

What if God is a writer without a plan?  Nihilism influences more people than you might think.  What if God's just messing with us?  What if we're destined to wind up at our own series finale and realize that all the twists and turns and cliff hangers had no meaning or purpose? 

I'm glad for this verse.  And this one.  And this one too.  I'm glad that God has this thing pre-planned. 

Life rarely feels pre-planned.  But the unpredictable surprises keep things interesting.  And I can appreciate them since I konw that the author of my story knows where it's going.

Done with Jonah

We're done with Jonah.  This past weekend we wrapped up the series.  The highlight of the series for me was commissioning a church full of missionaries at the end of the services Sunday.  So cool to send!

Most importantly, I'm done being Jonah:)  I'm not saying that I'll never throw another self-centered pity party or take another step away from my mission field.  I wish my missional maturity was that guaranteed.  But I have taken a good look in the mirror and recognized my tendency to absorb grace without breathing it out.  And I'm personally closing the series by getting up from my altar of repentance with more determination to influence Metro Detroit for Jesus than I've ever felt before.

I closed the services by quoting Jesus. 

As the Father has sent me, I'm sending you.

Let mission drive your life this week!

An Opportunity

So many of you have responded with excitement about the miracle reports from my recent trip to Uganda.  Good news:)  We've got a great opportunity for you to be involved with the follow up.  Katie has developed a plan to send the kids of Karamoja some clothes.  Check out the details! 

Let us know if you're able to help.

Sam's Story

Tonight I got to listen to Sam Huddleston share his story.  Sam serves as a leader for the Assemblies of God in Northern California.  When he was ten years old God spoke to him while watching a news report detailing the arrest of several hundred black demonstrators during the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Alabama. 

While watching that report he made a promise.  If I ever have a chance to show the world that blacks and whites can do something together, I'm going to do it.

His life hasn't been without some detours, including a five-year prison sentence.  But today he's keeping his promise and living his dream.

I laughed as Sam spoke.  I clapped.  I wrote.  Most of all, my heart pounded.  One of my ministry dreams is to serve young black church planters as they start and lead blended churches.  Could you imagine how the landscape of Metro Detroit would change with fifteen or twenty new churches bridging color gaps? 

Now that's a goal I could give my life to:)