Stuff

I'm up very early again this morning on account of a regular problem of not being able to turn off my head and sleep like a normal person.



I've been thinking this morning, well...I've been thinking about this all week actually, about all this stuff we have in the house. One of the cool things about writing Life Group lessons (and as Pastors will admit they do when they draft their teachings) is I draw on personal experience and emotion to develop part of the material. This week Pastor Rob is focusing on hoarding. I was proof-reading some of the Life Group lesson material to Kristi the other day and when I got to the part about how garages these days don't even get used for vehicles but are used as the largest walk-in closet in the house. Kristi said, "you should put a picture of our garage in the lesson material." She's right-I should. I would guess that at least half of what is in there (and in Kristi's storage room in the basement by the way), hasn't been touched for at least 3-years. We both tend to use the same excuse, that "we might need it someday" or "that used to be mom's or dad's." We were both convicted this week that yes, while we might need these things someday, someone else really could use it today, and the next day and the next. What we have archived "treasured" as a luxury is a very real need to someone else.



Spring is a popular time for people to take stock of their possessions, decide what they can part with and have a garage sale; maybe they'll make $50 or so. Maybe a better thing to consider would be instead of using that effort to earn $50, that we would give it away to charity. My guess is that all this stuff we might unload in a garage sale that doesn't really amount to a hill of beans financially would be valued ten-times that to families in need because you can't really put a value on need. You simply need it or you don't. Think about that. If that doesn't do it then think about this: 16% of children in the United States, are in poor families. Yes you could get $5 for that hardly worn Winter coat you don't need but someone in need would respond as if they were handed a hundred bucks. That person could be someone in your own family or mine. We just may not know it yet.

New Foundation

My brother-in-law Jeff recently returned from a mission trip to Honduras. Many of the pictures he has posted remind me of what we saw on our mission trip to the Dominican Republic in 2006. As you look at this picture you wonder why in the world would you bother to pour a concrete floor in a building that surely will struggle to stand anyway? Jeff said that a mother of five lives here. Her husband ran off and she manages the best she can. The concrete will replace an unsanitary dirt floor he said.

As I read this it hit home how powerful a metaphor this is. It's never too late to build a foundation where one never existed. It's never too late to pour solid ground where there was once sinking sand. It's never too late because our walls will never be secure and they can't endure the test of time, life and the world but God (if we allow Him to) will in the same spirit He helped Nehemiah rebuild a wall will help us secure ours. If our walls lean, loosen or fall we can always count on the solid foundation...the solid footing of Jesus to anchor upon.

Vision Statement or Vision Movement?

Very early Friday morning I was reflecting on what God has done with (and through) Jacob’s Well. This 3-year old church plant that is at a benchmark well ahead of the norm at this point is certainly one of God’s plan. This church is not (in my opinion) commissioned to be a “normal” church that moves at a “normal” pace under “normal” ways and means. I believe there is more…much more. This got me thinking about her future, anticipating God’s moves with this body located on Mitchell Dr. in Plano, IL. My thoughts (dreams?) turned to the church planting that The Well will do. I started envisioning strip mall store-front satellite churches being birthed in communities where God has identified a need. This is all very exciting to me because God is always moving and has planned ahead so shouldn’t we do the same? Shouldn’t we want do do the same? As I contemplated all of the “moves” God might be making, my excitement grew. At the same time I couldn’t help but wonder if my drive and ambition was out of place or premature. I soon realized that neither was. In fact if I ever get to the point that I don’t get excited about the things that God has planned in reaching out and how I believe He plans to use me or my brothers and sisters in Christ-then I have reason for concern. I believe one of the biggest reasons a church becomes stagnant is because of staffing with momentum killers. I happen to believe that if you pray about something long enough; your opportunity may have come and gone. This is because long and focused prayer for guidance can soon turn into procrastination and often does. Too often “let’s pray about that” is just a nicer, more churchy way of saying “I’ll get back to you on that.” I haven't experienced that kind of thing at The Well. That is why I truly believe the things I dream of for her, a shared dream by the way, will become reality. Before this can happen though, the right team has to be in place. You can't be in the "A" game without the "A" team on the field.

Like any businesses I’ve had the pleasure of associating with, the New Year often includes an element of vision-casting. The problem isn’t with vision-casting but the lack of a team (the right team) commissioned to see the vision through-to keep the momentum. Churches, like most private businesses can be full of great ideas but unless there is a team that believes and is excited about the future, anticipates and has a passion for the vision, you can forget it.

Kristi came across one of Steven Furtick’s blog posts later in the day and posted it on Facebook: http://www.stevenfurtick.com/spiritual-growth/celebration-and-anticipation/. She had no idea what I was thinking earlier in the morning. Now this morning as I sat down to jot some thoughts and the following blog drew my attention. It is very much in line with my beliefs. “Three critical aspects for future growth” by Ron Edmondson are absolutely essential for carrying out God’s plan for the local church and this can’t just be a “go through the motions” January waste of time. Strategic-planning is essential and demands the kind of dedication that can only be found in a team built with individuals that are forward-thinkers, have a passion for God and for their church and last but not least are excited about what the future could be...all three. That is what will produce results and that is what will make a vision become reality. Just so I'm not misunderstood; I couldn't care less about how many seats my church has. What I do care about and what I dream about is how many communities my church can have a place of worship in and have a stake in that community. Isn't that what community is really about? This is what excites me about Jacob's Well; the fact that if she no longer existed, she would be missed by not only one community but three or four. It's not about growing a big church and inviting people in. Its about going out seeding and growing the community. I’ve had my fill of vision statements and mission statements. What I want to see are more vision movements and mission movements.

Some reflection on my homeless shelter experience

I can't imagine living day to day not knowing if my wife or my kids are going to eat or have a place to lay their head at night.

Last night was my second time serving at a PADS Homeless Shelter. I remembered a few faces from the first night and the slight glimpse into their situation. I also got to meet a couple more last night. As I sat at the registration table, I opened up the logbook that travels from PADS site to PADS site each day and got a glimpse of things like "last known address." It's quite sobering that a person I met last night has laid his head down for the night under a bridge. As I look outside the window while I write this I'm at a loss for words to describe my reaction other than this; I realize a need for me to do more but feel somewhat paralyzed and am not sure why that is. I'm sure many people feel this way.

One gentleman that checked in last night just had foot surgery a couple days ago, foot bandaged up, a plastic grocery bag full of prescription medications. I wonder if he is homeless because he chose medication over paying rent? You hear a lot of comments from the visitors like "if I pay for this-then I can't pay for that." One young woman who was there with her husband and 5-year old little boy asked if the laundry cards (laundromat vouchers) were available yet because they had two-weeks of dirty clothes in their car (home). It's amazing that the little boy was cheerful in spite of circumstances but then-he's only 5. It's easy for many of us to criticize that many of the homeless smoke cigarettes. We sometimes (as I have) comment that if they can afford to buy smokes, they can afford to by some necessities of life. My sometimes rare compassionate side then helps me realize that perhaps the only pleasure some of these people may get to enjoy is smoking. I know-it's easy to criticize still but I try to not get caught up in all that. Maybe for some, smoking makes it easier to skip a meal or two. Who am I to say?

Some visitors just can't make it on $10.00/hr. Do you know anyone that can...on their own anyway? It burns me that the same minimum wage paid to a forklift driver is the same wage paid to a teenager making ice cream cones at the local dairy joint for crying out loud but that is a story for another day. Some people despair because they find a job opportunity but have no transportation.

I read a statistic the other day that 50% of Americans are one paycheck away from being homeless. I'm not sure about that; it seems like a high percentage. I would guess that this stat means some will end up homeless and others displaced (moved in with friends or family).

There are a lot of reasons people are showing up at the shelters and I'm pretty sure there will be even more as Winter digs in. I don't know what else to say other than I know how close to this edge my own kids are and that without family to be there for them; that is the only thing that may one day prevent them from meeting similar fate as those I saw last night.

Who brings a casserole to a divorce?

Last night as we were discussing various things in our life group and we briefly touched on divorce and the comment was made that divorce is often harder to go through than a death in the family. With a death you have closure but divorce has ongoing effect personally and peripherally. What came up was that divorce compared to other life crisis’ doesn’t seem to generate much support from an emotional standpoint. In essence, as Darcy put it, “nobody brings you a casserole when you are going through a divorce.”

One of the comforting things that happens when people go through tough times is you real friends show up-the ones that truly care. It really does matter when you’ve been hospitalized and return home knowing that friends are taking care of your meal plans for a short time. That certainly meets the physical need but it serves a psychological one as well. Unfortunately-this is not often the case when a friend is suffering through a divorce process. It’s interesting that we react to news of a spit up like “they’re splitting up…so sad”, or “those poor kids”, or “ he’s a jerk, it’s about time.” Then there is the comment from the “over-saved” friend “God’s not liking this!“ Well duh…

When it comes to a marriage in the midst of a split, we tend to comfort from a distance. Perhaps this is because divorce comes with more baggage than an illness and because there is a more long-term need for support mentally, relationally and even spiritually many of us will guard our distance. That’s sad because the fact is that these days more than half of all marriages end in divorce and in more cases than not, we will fail to respond in time to help save a friend from going through one. Perhaps it’s just easier (like going to a wake) to just bring a casserole after the fact and be done with it after all?

A Good Chase

Last Sunday as Kristi and I were on our way to church we had just passed our former church home-Harvest Chapel. As we made our way past, we saw someone named Clint. For those who don’t know who Clint is; even if you don’t attend Harvest Chapel you’ve likely seen him walking a gravel shoulder along highways and back roads carrying a large garbage bag. He picks up cans presumably to help make ends meet. Only on rare occasion have we seen him in shoes. Every time we see Clint alongside the road, quickly walking the gravel shoulder with the look of a "man on a mission" we are blessed at the sight. Some people just by the pure essence of being themselves have that affect on us. Clint’s background and life in general, I will just leave out of this for the sake of privacy but for those who know who Clint is, this probably will have a bit more “bite” to it.

So what was so special last Sunday as we passed Clint? Clint was about ¼ mile from church, it was 9:38 a.m. and he had plenty of time to make the 10:15 a.m. service. He was on County Line Rd., cars backed up a few deep behind him…barefoot…running. Kristi and I at that moment seemed to lose whatever thoughts were going through our head and were turned to what God is doing with this man’s life. Once again God has used someone; He has used someone nameless to so many people and yet He used Clint that particular morning in part to “reel-in” my and Kristi’s attention to where it belonged...we were running a bit late. If you can envision Clint at this moment please do. Please get this image in your mind…barefoot and running to church, afraid he’s going to miss something; perhaps afraid He might miss something important from God if he gets there too late. In essence he’s chasing after God and he doesn’t want to miss a thing. He had plenty of time to get there on time and yet he wasn’t going to risk it-so he ran. We’re grateful for churches like Harvest Chapel that are reaching people in a way that has them running after God.

How many times do we who have all the time in the world to get ready for a late morning church service, allow ourselves to be so absolutely lazy and nonchalant, that we would risk missing something? Perhaps it’s just no big deal just to miss a bit of the worship part of the service-right? If you have to miss any part-that would be the part to miss because the “takeaway” part is in the message segment-right? Think about that (and I know a lot of people think that way) as if God will understand that whatever we need to fiddle with on Sunday morning, is somehow going to honor Him that we were able to squeeze Him into our busy Sunday schedule. If we can’t do better about bringing ourselves to Him on Sunday He probably isn’t going to expect much from the other six days.

People like Clint remind me just how insignificant I can be no matter how significant I often like to believe I am.

Unless something has changed which I doubt, Clint can probably be found sitting up front at church, in the first row and that’s another thing; how most people would rather blend in? Not Clint. When it comes to God-he wants that front-row seat. Its interesting how front row seats are usually available even when the house is packed.

Reflections from Catalyst 2010 Atlanta

I'm glad Kristi and I had the time and resources to attend the Catalyst conference in Atlanta the last few days. It's difficult to summarize the "takeaways" or even the "giveaways" for that matter; day and night was just simply filled with spiritual and educational download and upload.

I had the opportunity to personally thank a couple of leaders that are among those that are influencing me and resourcing me. I had a moment with John Ortberg from Rockford, IL., author of the book "The ME I Want To Be"; just a humble guy that spent three days giving himself away to anyone who wanted to sit with him and talk in the Monvee tent. I'm glad I got to thank him for helping God shape me. I then had a chance opportunity when I recognized Craig Groeschel at one of the elevators at the arena and I wanted to thank Craig for www.lifechurch.tv and "giving it away"; and that I appreciate that he makes life group resources available free to anyone that cares to download it. Heck-he even gives away sermon material to any Pastors that want to download that stuff too! It's easy to see how some of these guys have attained "rock star status" yet I can tell you they are very humble and understand that they are not the source and therefore lay no claim to that which makes their fame. The downside perhaps of my encounter with Groeschel (for him anyway) is this: I was with my friend Bob Lockwood who is the creative arts point leader at Jacobs Well and he had a camera on him and was not shy about asking Craig if he would mind having his picture taken with "yours truly". Craig was more than happy to. That kind of had the effect of ringing the dinner bell though and it wasn't but a few seconds later that Craig was very much like a single worm tossed into a school of hungry fish! Sorry about that!

So...what is my biggest takeaway from Catalyst2010? "To give it away." To be humble enough to get under those who are smarter than me and can teach me. The more I do that, the more prepared I will be as a mentor for someone that seeks someone to get under... to give it away (be over) and continually "stay under."