BLeach

One confused baby

Great Friends::Great Missionaries

Awakening

I'm excited about the opportunity for our church to join with dozens of churches across the country for Awakening.  Beginning January 11 we will be committing 21 days to begin the new year with prayer and fasting.  I will also be preaching a series of vision messages to paint a picture of what God wants to do through us in 2009.

We have seen God do some amazing things in Metro Detroit this year.  And because of our recent Amplify campaign, we are now positioned to experience significant growth in our church.  But more than anything, God is calling us to Himself.  And there's no greater way to seek His face and prioritize His Presence then by prayer and fasting.

Our leadership team is going to be doing a Danie's Fast (only fruits and vegetables) during the 21 days of prayer.  And I am hoping that many more people in our church will make the same commitment.

You can find some great, practical resources at the Awakening blog.

Let's go after God!

Why Leah Smokes Me at Pictionary

Why I Stink at Pictionary

My First iPhone Post

With my contract ending with Verizon, I've been holding out hope that Leah may agree to switch to AT&T. Turns out she had already bought me an iPhone for Christmas!

And then it happened. She lost her phone monday night at the Red Wings game. So she gave me the phone early so we could go to the store and make the switch together. We Had incredible customer service and now I can't stop playing with my new toy:)

The Power of an Invite

Like many churches, we invest money in advertising. We want people in our community to know who we are, where we are, and that our doors are wide open. This has been especially important since we've been gathering to worship in a new location the past two months. We've sent two mass mailers into the community since we've moved, and have a couple more in the works.

But these types of "saturation" techniques will never replace a good, old fashioned, word of mouth invite. The mailer is the air support. But then we need to send in the ground troops.

One of our guests on Sunday confirmed it when she shared her story with me at Guest Central. She received both of our recent postcards, and even testified to feeling unusually drawn to them (that's because we pray over them). But she didn't take the step to visit until her next door neighbor, who happens to be a man who was baptized in our church earlier this year, invited her to come with him.

From her perspective, the invite was a sign from God.

Why don't you let God use you this week? Invite a friend to church!

The Real Big Three

I woke up this morning to a big, bold, and potentially depressing headline on the front page of the Detroit Free Press. 

No Deal!

I proceeded to read several articles detailing the Senate's refusal yesterday to approve a bailout for Detroit's "Big Three" automakers.  After reading about looming job losses and a collapsing economy, I noticed a familiar feeling settling into my spirit.

Fear.

Now I'm remembering something I recently read from a book by Dallas Willard.  The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow or require our minds to dwell upon.

So I'm making a shift, from trying to predict the unpredictable future of Detroit's big three, to receiving into my spirit God's big three.

• Love
  
• Joy
• Peace

God's big three are the fundamental dimensions of the fruit of the spirit.  We often think of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) in the plural.  But the Bible doesn't describe many kinds of fruit.  It is one fruit, the fruit of a life being transformed by the Spirit of Jesus. 

God's big three are not just emotions, although they are certainly associated with positive feelings.  No, they are deeper than feeling and more consistent than circumstance.  They are the state of being, and the way of life of the Christ-follower. 

And it's our association with the real big three that will determine our influence in Metro Detroit in the day's ahead.

Doing My Homework

There's alot for me to learn before becoming a dad...

Rooted

I'm in the home stretch of my Master's Program right now.  I'm done attending classes, and just working my way out from under a mountain of papers! 

The educational journey has stretched my thinking in some important ways.  For example, it has given me a greater value for church history and tradition.  For as long as I can remember I've valued the first century church.  I've often dreamed of being a part of a church planting movement in which the Book of Acts was coming to life.  And I've preached more from the Book of Acts than any other book since we've started our church.

But while I've placed great value on the first 100 years of church history, I haven't thought as much about the last 1,900. Yet I know that Jesus has been actively building his church all along. 

That means that our emerging ministry models should be rooted not only in 1st century Christianity, but also in the lasting traditions that have been carved over the last 20 centuries.  I want to become a better student of church history.  I want to know the major players.  I want to study the most influential movements.  And I want to appreciate the epic legacy of which my life's work is rooted.

Leonard Sweet says that yoked foresight and hindsight yield insight.  In other words, we see further ahead when we use the rearview mirror.