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  • Reason #1 I love MGEFC

    I am surrounded by some of the most talented people I know.  Seriously…it’s almost unfair to think of all the people that are involved in the worship arts ministry at MGEFC who could easily walk into a church and take a position as a worship leader.  Even more so, they do it for free! I mean check this out, in our worship arts ministry, I’ve got

    • People with bachelor degrees and masters degrees in music

    • Gifted songwriters

    • a dude that was on an episode of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (now THAT’s sweet…admit it)

    On top of that, I think I’ve got some of the best vocalists in MN.  But above it all, they are all people with HUGE hearts for the Lord.  They’ve been through so much change within the worship arts department, but they have always remained faithful and always committed.

    That’s what I love about my church.

    What do you love about yours?

  • lol…

    So I saw this today and it made me laugh while at the same time making me say “I wish I thought of that!”3659905297_104035951f_ohttp://www.flickr.com/photos/84773642@N00/3659905297/in/pool-79997956@N00

    I wonder if amazon.com has this in stock?

  • Worship in a Flannel Shirt

    It was the 90’s.  I was introduced to green day, nirvana and flannel shirts.  I even got that haircut where you let the top grow long so you could pull it back in a pony tail, but had the lower half shaved.  If you grew up in the 90’s you know what I’m talking about.

    If you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry about it…it was scary!

    But somewhere in the 90’s I was also introduced to an album series called “Winds of Worship”.  (Did I really just say album?  lol…I meant CD, even though it really was a cassette tape!)

    winds04_jewelcase_400x400q85I was reminded of this album because last night – at our worship arts meeting – someone asked me to give one of my biggest Christian music influences.  Right off the bat I remembered a guy named Andy Park singing, “The River of God sets my feet a dancing…” and so I threw out his name.

    Then I started reminiscing…

    Growing up in a church that only had an organ, a piano, and a “almost” in tune violin player, I remember vineyard worship being a breath of fresh air.  Compared to the hymns with lyrics I didn’t understand (and some with theology that I now know is questionable) singing “Light the Fire Again” with Brian Doerksen’s raspy voice somehow connected with me.

    And so last night I was remembering what it was like to worship in a flannel shirt…

    and I liked it =)

  • A Tale of Two Cities

    a-tale-of-two-cities“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

    This weekend two people I call friends were married.  This weekend one person I called friend passed away.  It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.

    While driving to Ocean City, MD this weekend to officiate the wedding of two couples that I have had the pleasure of being called their pastor and their friend, I received a text message that a friend of mine had passed away.

    Call it peculiar, but when I heard that call I was truly grief stricken.  To be honest, I have never had anyone that I personally knew pass away.  I have been to funerals, and I have even officiated the services of funerals, but this was the first time I had a real personal relationship with someone who passed away.

    At the same time, I was elated with the expectation and honor to marry two people who I have walked life with as an associate pastor in Orlando.  I remember when they both came to Christ and now I was going to see “them” become “One.”

    Now I sit in the Philidelphia airport.

    It’s time to go home.

    Then time to kiss my children and hold them in my arms.

    Time to realize that that:

    “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3)

  • Aloha

    Week one in MN and what can I say? A chapter has closed and a new one has begun. While we have officially said goodbye to our life in Orlando, we are simultaneously saying hello to our new life here in Maple Grove, MN.

    So how so you say both hello and goodbye? My friends at the luau say it like this…

    “Aloha!”

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  • Day One

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    Today was Day One

    ok…it was “technically” Day 3, if you count this week’s days in the office.  None-the-less, today was the first Sunday for me at Maple Grove Evangelical Free Church.  Overall, I think things went as planned.  I’ve been working with Matt on today’s service over the last couple of weeks and he did a great job of running the rehearsals, coordinating and communicating with the volunteers, and just overall being a workhorse!  I know that  and his wife are totally goign to be missed.

    Soooo…back to what I was going to share.  Here is the PCO (Plannign Center Online) order of service:
    June 14th, 2009

    It’s still too early to give out any type of real evaluation, but I can tell you that my guitar fell off the guitar stand in second service in the beginning of announcements.  I’m not one who gets embarrassed easily, so it was not a real big deal for me, but when I had to put on the guitar again for the beginning of the offertory special, I didn’t think that the 3 foot drop the headstock took just might give me a reason to check the tuning on the guitar ;P

    Needless to say, I had to tune on the fly, which made it a little awkward for me, but hopefully I wasn’t too much a distraction.  I’m sure someone will bring up the guitar thing at our Worship Arts meeting this Tuesday. Maybe next time I’ll lead from the piano.  But then I might fall off the chair if Murphey’s Law tends to stick around for me.

    Let’s hope I don’t end up like this guy:

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3ASzTQCzc]

  • Book Review: The Noticer by Andy Andrews

    _140_245_Book.50.coverThe Noticer is what I would most accurately describe as a modern day fable.  But unlike a typical fable that helps children learn the lesson of what happnes if you cry “Wolf” too many times, The Noticer leaves you with wisdom that could possibly change your life.

    Don’t be mistaken – this book is a wonderful read of fiction…or non-fiction…I don’t really know – but I couldn’t put the book down.  The book is centered around a central figure who we first meet in the beginning of the book with the nam of Jones.  By the end of the book we find that Jones is a whole more than what we expected.  And if you let him, Jones will teach you about a perspective on life that will show you life is more than we expected.

    Totally recommend this.

  • “How’s your church doing?”

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    When I hear this question, I know what’s being asked.

    • How many people showed up on Sunday?
    • What is the giving like?
    • What percentage of your congregation is serving at the church?
    • What kind of “Big Days” did you pull off?

    As of recently, I’ve been wanting to answer that question like this:

    “Well, the Church that I am a part of is doing great!  In fact, it is doing better than ever because God said that He will build His church.  Now are you asking about how THE church is doing, or are you asking how our people are doing?  If that’s the case, then I would say that they are

    Broken

    Unemployed

    Recently Divorced

    Hurting

    BUT

    Totally depending on Jesus and the expression of him through the local fellowship of believers that I am a part of.

    Continually moving towards maturity in their love for God and their obedience to loving others without agenda.

    So I guess we’re doing pretty good.

    Don’t ask me how my church is doing.  That’s easy to answer.

    Ask me how the people are doing.  That’s a messier story, but it’s authentic, it’s relational, and can be life-changing.

  • Book Review: Missional Renaissance

    Missional Renaissance

    “Missional” is just another spin at Christian-ese.

    A new generation of ultra-hip, establishment-abortionists with their mac computers and iPhones has come up with a new “catch-phrase” to label their definition of what they think church should be. Why “missional?” Can’t we just say we are biblical?

    This is what I used to think when I heard of the word “Missional” being tossed around a few years ago.  Fortunately, my own personal journey of following Christ has allowed me the opportunity to see beyond my own stubborn paradigms.  So when I received this book in the mail, I was open and excited to explore a movement that defines many Christ-followers, who I have judged before even taking the time to understand.

    The first thing I realized when I started reading this book was that what I thought the term “MISSIONAL” meant – was wrong.  Being Missional isn’t some trite or redesigned way to describe a people who are evangelistic or believers who like to drink at bars (though being at a bar may be an intentional strategy to fulfilling God’s desire for biblical living).

    I will be honest and say that I am still processing a lot of this information.  Right off the bat, I found some things I was saying, “YEAH!!  RIGHT ON!”  Then there were things I was saying, “REALLY?   THAT‘s biblical?”  But overall, I found that nothing heretical in nature was found.  In fact, I am starting to believe that the “Missional Mindset” may, in fact, truly be a renaissance of sorts in the organization of the people of God – the church.  With that said, here are some things that stuck out to me, ranging from things I totally agree about to the things I need to break open my bible and talk with God about.

    • We must change our ideas of what it means to develop a disciple, shifting the emphasis from studying Jesus and all things spiritual in an environment protected from the world to following Jesus into the world to join Him in His redemptive mission.
    • …study after study continues to reveal that active church members do not reflect a different value set than the culture at large.
    • Missional followers of Jesus don’t belong to a church. They are the church.
    • Our job is not to “do church” well but to be the people of God in an unmistakable way in the world.
    • The missional follower of Jesus cannot conceive of their spiritual identity outside of being in accountable and encouraging relationships with other Jesus followers.
    • …substituting religions activity for helping people doesn’t cut it with God.
    • People deserve to be blessed simply because they are people, not just so we can “witness” to them.
    • When the church thinks it’s the destination, it also confuses the scorecard.
    • Substituting church activity as the preferred life expression is as weird as believing that airports are more interesting than the destination they serve.
    • The missional church, as you might guess, has an allergic reaction to the reach-and-assimilate social engineering of people.
    • People will accept help in shaping their spiritual path…especially from people they respect and trust, who seem to have their best interests at heart.
    • …if the [YMCA] operated like the church, it’d bring people in once a week, feed them coffee and donuts, and let them watch Jason [the club personal trainer] work out!
    • Maturation is messy. It takes time.  It doesn’t occur linearly.  Maturation occurs in an atmosphere where accountability is expected and practiced.
    • Giving people information without providing means for application and accountability for their behaviors turn them into knowledgeable but disobedient people.
    • …the New Testament discussion about gifts and ministry occurred in a world where acts of ministry were primarily done in the marketplace, not “at church.” They were being the church in the world.
    • …missional leaders…believe [they] are on a mission in the world and are partnering with God in blessing the people in [their] sphere of influence.

    How “Missional” are you?

  • Clear Expectations and Follow Through

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    Communicating expectations you never follow through with is a leader’s wost mistake.

    To forget is human.

    To neglect is to fail.

    It’s not enough just to tell people where to go.  You must take them there. More than that – you must be decidedly committed to going where you want to lead, and you must have the passion, desire, and resolution to journey with those who follow you at a pace where they can arrive at the destination successfully.

    Pastors are visionary – at least they should be.  But pastors must also be good managers.  Why?  Because they are shepherds and that job description requires a lot of management.

    Clear expectations is vital to the health of any organization, whether it is a church or a business.  I’ve learned this the hard way in my experiences as a pastor, and as a business owner.  When I was clear in my expectations there was positive productivity.  When I wasn’t, it was a formula for disaster. But clear expectations isn’t just enough.

    Accountability must follow expectations, otherwise “expectations” just comes off as wishful thinking.  Most of all, a leader must follow through on the expectations they have set up for themselves.

    • If you say you’re going to call – call
    • If you said you’re going to have lunch – have lunch.

    Just ask a shepherd…leading a flock isn’t just done from the front of the pack.  A lot of times it’s done behind it.

    Is that clear?