BLeach

Good For Us, Not For Him

I'm looking forward to preaching the Good Friday services at Allison Park Church this week. It's an honor to inspire people to remember the cross, and lead them in communion.

It's always been interesting to me that we call it "Good Friday." I guess we do because we know the end of the story. We have the benefit of hindsight and know what happened three days later. But for those who loved Jesus, in the moment, there was nothing good about it.

I also wonder if I call it good because my default position is to evaluate something based on what it does for me. It was good for me, but not for Jesus.

To flip it, the reason I'm free to live for God today, is because Jesus was willing to surrender to something that was bad for him, yet good for me.

So here's my challenge to you. This week, to honor the memory of "Good Friday," what is one thing you can do for someone else that's good for them, but not for you. 

Good for your wife, but maybe painful for you. Good for your parents, but maybe inconvenient for you. Good for a friend, but costly for you.

This is, after all, the attitude of our Savior. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2.4).

Becoming My Own Grandfather

Yesterday I had the opportunity to preach at The Oaks. They're about to celebrate their four year anniversary. It was a rewarding day.

Five years ago God put a dream in my heart of launching a church plant in downtown Royal Oak. It was my privilege to lead Church of the King in sending a core group and partnering with Chris and Nicki Bradshaw as they established a creative church in one of the most unique mission fields of Metro Detroit.

Yesterday they blessed us with an offering for The Philly Project. Leah joked that it was as if I had become my own grandfather. We parented The Oaks, and now they're helping us get launched with the new church plant God has put on our hearts. I love the reproducing spirit!

It was a joy to see the growth that's happening at The Oaks. So many new families, babies and kids. The people are great--and really diverse spiritually, socially, generationally and racially. Their worship team has a very unique flavor, and the whole gathering was setup with excellence.

Leah and I even got to grab lunch with Chris and Nicki afterward. Other than Gabs throwing up all over the floor it was great fellowship! So proud of the entire team at The Oaks!

Living Your Passion

I'm currently reading a short, inspiring book by Gary Vaynerchuk called Crush It. He's transforming the way business is done by sticking to three simple rules.

• Love your family
• Work superhard
• Live your passion

Church planting is tough work, but there's nothing else I'd rather be doing. In Gary's words, here's why.

Live your passion. What does that mean, anyway? It means that when you get up for work every morning, every single morning, you are pumped because you get to talk about or work with or do the thing that interests you the most in the world. You don't live for vacations because you don't need a break from what you're doing--working, playing, and relaxing are one and the same. You don't even pay attention to how many hours you're working because to you, it's not really work. You're making money, but you'd do whatever it is you're doing for free.

I love Gary's passion, and love what I do. But for the record, I do still look forward to vacation!

Suffering and the Father

On Tuesday night I gave a talk to Apex, APC's young adult group, on the question, "How could a good God allow suffering?" Intimidating topic for sure!

It's a tough question because it's a personal question. Many of our God questions are philosophical in nature. The suffering question has philosophical implications as well, but the intensity of the question comes from the heart, not the head. It comes out of our own intense circumstances.

Since it's a personal question, I wanted to remind the group that God made it personal as well. We're about to start Passion week, which is an opportune time for Christians to reflect on the pain Jesus endured at the cross, and His eventual triumph and resurrection. God doesn't ignore our suffering. He experiences it Himself. The cross doesn't necessarily give a pretty answer to the question of suffering, but as Tim Keller argues in The Reason for God, it does show us what the answer isn't. The answer isn't that God doesn't love us, and it isn't that God doesn't care.

A personal question also demands a personal response. One reason God rarely answers the "why" question may be because more than anything, He wants us to trust Him. In this way, our suffering becomes an opportunity to experience His love in a greater way.

Gabby has not been herself the past few days, so yesterday Leah took her to the doctor, who diagnosed her with a double ear infection (an infection in both ears). For the record, I absolutely hate seeing my little girl suffer. It's awful. And I just wish there was some magical way for me to take it away.

But if there is a redeeming thread, it is that the ear infection made Gabby very mellow. Typically she is all over the place, crawling and wiggling and never sitting still. But last night she sat on my lap the entire night. I've never spent more time cuddling with her. I hate that she is sick, but I love the way her sickness drives her to daddy.

God doesn't enjoy seeing us suffer. This isn't the world He intended. But when we leverage our suffering to press into Him; that must please Him.

On a funnier note, I posted a note to Twitter about Gabby's ear infection. One friend added this comment on Facebook: "I think as long as it's not a triple it shouldn't be too serious."

The moral of the story--things could always be worse. She could have three ears :)

Five Focus Neighborhoods

Several people have recently asked us which neighborhoods we're investigating for our first church plant in Philadelphia. There are five on our short list that we're researching, exploring, and praying about. Here they are, in no particular order.

• University City
• Queen Village/South Philadelphia
• Fishtown
• Fairmount/Center City
• East Falls

It could be that God has a neighborhood in mind that isn't even on our radar yet, but these are the five that have caught our eye.

Narrowing it down is a tough process, because our dream is to plant many churches throughout Philadelphia. When I spend time in these neighborhoods, as well many others, my heart beats fast to see churches planted in all of them! But we've got to start somewhere.

Honestly, I feel like God will do something to direct us to a specific place. We're doing our part to investigate, research, and get to know people, but in the end we're waiting on God for direction. He has led us so directly to this point in the journey, I've got to believe that He'll take us to the right neighborhood.

Faith is Our Title Deed

There are many details we are entrusting to God as we follow His lead to plant churches in Philadelphia. At the top of the list is the sale of our house in Michigan. 

In the natural, the outlook isn't very encouraging. The housing market in Metro Detroit is at record lows, and the value of our house has declined almost 40% since I bought it seven years ago. We need God to do a miracle.

Strangely enough, we are at peace. We have our moments, but any anxiety that kicks up brings us back to a place of complete dependency on God. And that's a great place to be!

We've been studying Hebrews 11 each week in our family devotions. Abraham's story is especially encouraging to us. During our study, Leah came across verse 1 in the Amplified Bible, and it's revolutionized the way I pray over our house.

Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the TITLE DEED) of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. (Amplified)

I wanted to shout when I first read that! Faith is the title deed. Now, when I think about the day we'll finally be able to sign over the title of our house, I know it's not a pipe dream. We're walking in obedience to God, which means that this is His problem.

And the title is as good as signed!

Steering Through Chaos

I was recently given a copy of a brand new book by Scott Wilson to read and review--and I'm so thankful I was!

I used to think that leading change was a leadership skill that only applied to pastors of established churches. Having a baby changed my perspective. As soon as Gabby was born she began to change. 

Church planters need to develop skills to navigate transition and change as much as anyone, for two simple reasons. First, as soon as a new church is born, it begins to change. You want it to change in the right direction. Second, no church plant is perfect. They all have strengths and weaknesses, and leading change is the important process of continually improving your organization.

The truth is, leaders in any organization must effectively lead through transition. That is why Scott Wilson's book, Steering Through Chaos, is such an important resource.

Scott leads The Oaks Fellowship in Dallas. The church is experiencing amazing growth, due in large part to some important changes that have taken place through Scott's leadership. 

One concept that Scott develops was particularly intriguing to me. As leaders, we don't simply try to deal with transition when it does happen. We actually create transition. He points out that transition and change is not a necessary evil to be endured, but a positive opportunity to be embraced.

I also appreciate the way Scott highlights the importance of spiritual leadership in the midst of change. Specifically, he talks about the importance of corporate prayer during times of transition in the life of a church.

Steering Through Chaos also includes profiles from several leading thinkers including Larry Osborne, Dino Rizzo, Greg Surratt, Tim Stevens, and Sam Chand. I know I'll be putting it to use as we plant churches in Philadelphia!

I'd encourage you to pick up a copy of the book for yourself.

Happy transitioning!

Headed Home

 

This afternoon I'll head back to Pittsburgh. Can't wait to see my girls! 

Today I'm thanking God for a fruitful week in Philadelphia. We continue to experience favor with pastors, businessmen, and new friends who live in Philadelphia.  Here are some highlights from this trip:

• Spent a morning with two young men who will be a part of our church planting residency.
• Had the opportunity to preach in two neighborhoods on Sunday--my first opportunity to preach in Philly!
• Spent a few days in the city without a car. It was a great opportunity to figure out Septa (the public transportation system).
• Spent large chunks of time in some of the neighborhoods we're considering. So good to walk, worship, pray, and meet people.
• A couple of potential meeting locations emerged. God continues to give us options!
• Met with a group of about 12 pastors who are passionate about church planting in Philadelphia. They've welcomed us with open arms.
• Spent a few hours with the Vice President of Cardone Remanufacturing. They're the largest remanufacturing company in the world, and operate out of 1,000,000 square feet of space in Northeast Philly. They have a huge heart for the city and employ thousands of residents.
• Spent a day at Valley Forge Christian College. They've invited us to help teach their urban ministries class in the fall, and are excited about partnering with us in other ways as we plant the church. 

Right now is a time of making investments. We're investing time in relationships, contacts, study, research, and prayer. Waiting in faith and expectation to see what God will do with it all!

To top it all off, March Madness begins today. One of my favorite times of the year!

Philly and the Startup Spirit

Fast Company just ran an interesting article titled Why You Should Start a Company in Philadelphia. It used to be that virtually all internet startups came out of Silicon Valley. But the article lists Philly as an emerging hub for entrepreneurs.

I've often considered church planters to be spiritual entrepreneurs. Just read Genesis 1. God is the author of the creative startup spirit! 

The article mentions several unique characteristics of the entrepreneurial culture in Philly, but I loved this quote about the interdependence of entrepreneurs in Philly. Would love to be able to say the same thing about church planters in the city!

You know, it's called the City of Brotherly Love and I actually think they mean it when it comes to startups. Philly is small enough and intimate enough that most of the entrepreneurs actually know each other. There's an unbelievable sense of community. Launching a startup is really hard and emotionally trying and there are a bunch of great networks and communities that build a really tight net and support groups. Philly Startup Leaders has hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs actively helping each other. It's a really interesting community in that way.

Let's plant some churches!

Hope Again

Hi. My name is Brad Leach, and I am a Detroit Lion's fan. I have loved the Lions for 30 years and they have never loved me back. In fact, they have only one playoff victory in the course of my lifetime.

My wife Leah is a Pittsburgh Steeler's fan. She has loved the Steelers for 30 years, and has received much more love in return. In fact, they have rewarded her with more Super Bowl Championships than any other NFL franchise.

The Lions usually lose. The Steelers occasionally lose. But when both of them lose, Leah and I have very different emotional responses. In short, Leah experiences total devastation while I go on with my life without skipping a beat. 

The difference is, of course, expectation. Leah feels disappointed when the Steelers lose because she expects them to win. But I have very little disappointment because I have very low expectations.

So the question is, which is better? To experience the thrill of a Super Bowl Championship one year, followed by the sting of missing the playoffs the next? Or to never feel the thrill or the sting?

Life's disappointments have a way of beating down our expectations. You hope for a relationship to work out, but it falls apart instead. You hope for a job offer to come through, but they never call you back. You hope for your church to grow, but can't seem to gain any traction.

How do you respond after feeling the sting of disappointment again, and again, and again?

Some people choose to play it safe. They stop dating, stop interviewing, and stop praying for growth. Meanwhile, a life without any expectation slowly shuts down their hearts.

Other people choose to risk. They get up and go out again. They dress up and interview again. They pray up and dream for growth again. And hope keeps their hearts alive.

Solomon was right. Hope deferred does make the heart sick. So choose to believe again today. Wake those dreams back up and expect God to do something great in your life.