Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Friday, October 06, 2006
Emerging Leaders
This past week I had an opportunity to go on a road trip with 40 other "young" pastors from Minnesota. Believe me when I say, "I just qualify". We went to Naperville, Ill. to meet with A/G Supt. Trask. The forum was to discuss the topic of "Young Emerging Pastors". I will not go into the details of what was said and what was accomplished, but I do want to share one thought with you about what I realized.
As I approach the age of 42 next week, I realized now more than ever how much I need young thinking around me. I need to learn from a culture that thinks different than I do in order to minister to them. There is such a passion in their hearts to reach their age group and the way they do that is different than how I would try and reach someone who is 40+. It was a great bus trip with plenty of opportunity for me to learn from younger guys. Hopefully as the really young and the not so young discussed ideas, the young were able to capture the wisdom of those who have gone before them and apply what they can to the methods that are used to reach the next generation.
As I approach the age of 42 next week, I realized now more than ever how much I need young thinking around me. I need to learn from a culture that thinks different than I do in order to minister to them. There is such a passion in their hearts to reach their age group and the way they do that is different than how I would try and reach someone who is 40+. It was a great bus trip with plenty of opportunity for me to learn from younger guys. Hopefully as the really young and the not so young discussed ideas, the young were able to capture the wisdom of those who have gone before them and apply what they can to the methods that are used to reach the next generation.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Rice Campus Update
Yesterday was our grand opening service at Living Hope Rice. We had just over 100 people attending. Eight new families from the Rice area attended for the first time. What a great day of celebrating the birth of a vision. I am so proud of all of our workers. They work together, have great attitudes, are extremely friendly and are working in their giftings and passion. I am especially proud of Pastor Bobby & Jen. They are doing a great job in laying a foundation of what our vision is for Living Hope Rice. It takes a team, and God has blessed me with a great one.
PS
Last time I talked about the shell shock I experienced the first Sunday in Little Falls. With two campuses and about 65 people from LF now at Rice it was different to say the least. I am happy to report that the last two weeks went a lot better. The second week the attendance was back up. We had a number of families that had been awol, all show up. The greatest part of the service was when seven people raised their hand or looked up at me indicating that they wanted to accept Jesus as savior. Wow was I pumped. One of the men has been attending my Life Group.
Yesterday in Little Falls we had another good increase. From what I can tell, the rough numbers for Littel Falls and Rice was around 300. This last year we averaged about 220.
God is passionate about the lost of our area and He is the one who is moving. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
PS
Last time I talked about the shell shock I experienced the first Sunday in Little Falls. With two campuses and about 65 people from LF now at Rice it was different to say the least. I am happy to report that the last two weeks went a lot better. The second week the attendance was back up. We had a number of families that had been awol, all show up. The greatest part of the service was when seven people raised their hand or looked up at me indicating that they wanted to accept Jesus as savior. Wow was I pumped. One of the men has been attending my Life Group.
Yesterday in Little Falls we had another good increase. From what I can tell, the rough numbers for Littel Falls and Rice was around 300. This last year we averaged about 220.
God is passionate about the lost of our area and He is the one who is moving. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
Monday, September 18, 2006
Living Hope Rice
If you look at the time span between this blog and my last one, you might be wondering what happened to me. Part of the time I was on a relaxing two week vacation, but most of the time I have been consumed with giving birth. Not literally thank the Lord! This past Sunday, after a couple of years of casting vision and planning, the church that I pastor went to two meeting locations. The last two months has been crunch time. The UPS and Fed Ex guys are dropping off packages almost daily. I think we can add them to our membership list soon. With all of the audio/visual stuff ordered, it's been like Christmas around here.
I am so proud of my staff and the people of Living Hope. They have really stepped it up to make this dream of the Lord's a reality. Our first service in Rice had 68 people attending. This was not an announced service. We are having two "practice" services prior to our grand opening on October 1.
It was very different at our Little Falls Campus on Sunday. I think some people thought, "where is everybody". Although it was down in attendance I was excited. For many years our church has filled to the 80% "stop growing barrier" and we had stopped growing. I believe that with the newly available seats, God is going to be bringing in pre-Christians who will become fully devoted followers of Christ.
Did we make some mistakes? Absolutely. Are we done making mistakes? No way. If we never make a mistake we are probably not doing anything. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained".
I am so proud of my staff and the people of Living Hope. They have really stepped it up to make this dream of the Lord's a reality. Our first service in Rice had 68 people attending. This was not an announced service. We are having two "practice" services prior to our grand opening on October 1.
It was very different at our Little Falls Campus on Sunday. I think some people thought, "where is everybody". Although it was down in attendance I was excited. For many years our church has filled to the 80% "stop growing barrier" and we had stopped growing. I believe that with the newly available seats, God is going to be bringing in pre-Christians who will become fully devoted followers of Christ.
Did we make some mistakes? Absolutely. Are we done making mistakes? No way. If we never make a mistake we are probably not doing anything. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained".
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Learning from the Minnesota Twins
I really enjoy watching the Minnesota Twins. They are a team with a low payroll, but play their hearts out and never seem to be out of any game.
The Twins have recently encountered several injuries to some key players. This has allowed for some "No Name" players to be promoted from AAA. Nearly every guy that was just called up has immediately added to the team with a key play in the field or a clutch hit.
All of this got me thinking about the system they use to develop players. When a player is placed on the dl, they don't just walk down to the local softball game and grab somebody of the bench to play pro. Professional baseball has various levels where they take time to teach and develop the athletes. There becomes a large pyramid of potential players that dream about making it in the big leagues. When they are ready, the opportunity comes. They know what to do because of the developement program they have been a part of.
I wonder if the church could learn something from baseball. Many churches are guilty when it comes to throwing a warm body into a ministry without giving them proper coaching and time to develop their skills. Sometimes we don't even know if they should be in the outfield or infield. We stick them were we need them and not were their talent lies.
As a "manager" of the church I Pastor, I have some thinking to do, some changes to make, some people to develop!
The Twins have recently encountered several injuries to some key players. This has allowed for some "No Name" players to be promoted from AAA. Nearly every guy that was just called up has immediately added to the team with a key play in the field or a clutch hit.
All of this got me thinking about the system they use to develop players. When a player is placed on the dl, they don't just walk down to the local softball game and grab somebody of the bench to play pro. Professional baseball has various levels where they take time to teach and develop the athletes. There becomes a large pyramid of potential players that dream about making it in the big leagues. When they are ready, the opportunity comes. They know what to do because of the developement program they have been a part of.
I wonder if the church could learn something from baseball. Many churches are guilty when it comes to throwing a warm body into a ministry without giving them proper coaching and time to develop their skills. Sometimes we don't even know if they should be in the outfield or infield. We stick them were we need them and not were their talent lies.
As a "manager" of the church I Pastor, I have some thinking to do, some changes to make, some people to develop!
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