This blog is dedicated to keeping you updated about the Pocono Community Church family and to sharing my daily thoughts and ideas regarding life, leadership and the Church.
This week we've been talking about a missional mindset for ministry. The concept flows out of the reality that Christians are the sent people of God. God, first and foremost, is a sending God. God sent the Son (John 3:16) and the Son sent people (John 20:21) full of His Spirit.
Jesus said, "Go" into all nations and carry out his mission (Matthew 28). Christianity was originally intended to be a movement. We are called to "move out" or to "go". And here's the cool thing, Jesus promises to move out with us because at the end of his Great Commandment he says "and I will be with you to the very end of the age."
So, what is God calling you to "move out" towards today? Who is he calling you to reach out to? Don't be inward focuses ... move out with Jesus.
Of course, if you are like me, you often feel the fear level rise with the thought of the unknown. Remember that postponement, indecision and over analysis fuels your fear. On the other hand, movement and action will neutralize that fear.
This week I'm teaching a class at VFCC in Phonexville, PA. This class has both undergrad Bible college students and seminary grad students from AGTS.
We are off to a great start of our 42 hour marathon. It's going to be a full week - kind of like taking a drink from a fire hydrant. The title of the class is Missional Ministry: Growing Healthy Churches in the 21st century.
Today we spent a lot of time talking about personal renewal. Healthy churches are led by healthy leaders. So, we talked a lot about what healthy leaders look like and what they do. I've learned that my personal growth will always proceed my churches growth. The great axiom of leadership says: The speed of the leader determines the speed of the team.
Another concept we discussed was that the interior life of the leader will eventually, over time, become the exterior life of the organization he/she leads. So, if you, as the leader, possess an anxious presence, overtime that will be born out in the life of your church/organization. On the other hand, if you are one who trusts in God and maintains a peaceful presence - so too will your people/church.
This is my first time ever to teach a class and I'm loving it. It's refreshing to me to pour into other leaders. I don't know who's getting more out of this - me or my students.
Hebrews 10:35ff says, "So don't throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised ... But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."
I'm a big fan of Tom Petty's music. One of my all-time favorite lyrics is, "I will stand my ground, no I won't back down." It's like he lifted that right out of the book of Hebrews. The Hebrews writer, like Petty, encourages us to stand up, not shrink back.
God is seeking men and women of action. Those that are willing to forcefully advance the cause of Christ, which is the Church. He said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell won't prevail against it." The church is on the offensive. God is building is church and he's using courageous followers of Christ who walk by faith and not by sight.
God says, "If you shrink back and cower in fear and play prevent defense when the game is on the line ... I will not be pleased."
So let's live lives that are full of risk and bold moves of faith. After all, "without faith, it is impossible to please God."I want to live a life that pleases God. That requires faith.
We had another awesome Sunday at PCC. Even though it was a holiday weekend (which was crazy here in the Poconos) we had a great attendance and powerful service. I've included some more pictures of the actual building. I feel like a proud father showing off pictures of my newborn. Ok, it's not as exciting as having a baby, put pretty close. Of course, what makes the building really shine are the people because the church is not a building, but a family of God that is open to everyone.
Last night was an amazing night at PCC. Thank you all for showing up and celebrating the Journey To A New Day gathering. The level of excitement and enthusiasm was off the charts. It was certainly a night that I will never forget. Thanks again to all of you who came out and for making it such a memorable evening.
On a side note, I apologize for running out of t-shirts and food last night. We had 500 t-shirts and they were all taken. So, if you came last night and didn't get a free t-shirt, we'll get some more and make them available to you. Thanks again for your patience and understanding.
I can't wait to see what God is going to do this Sunday. Please invite your friends and come prayed up.
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers for winning their all-time leading record 6th Superbowl. As an official member of the Steeler-nation, I am so proud of the Steelers for this historic win.
What's more important that a single victory are the men of faith that were on the field last night that I'm sure will leverage this game for the Kingdom of God. Check out this article below.
Faith In Football: A Time To Reflect
Friday, January 30, 2009
ANN ARBOR, MI — This Super Bowl week has not only focused on the physical prowess of the playmakers, but has also highlighted the Christian faith that is the bedrock of not only the team owners, but also many of the players.
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public-interest law firm, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has for the past three years given away (raffled) two tickets to the Super Bowl courtesy of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ ownership by the Rooney Family. This is the first time in those three years that the Pittsburgh Steelers will be going to the Super Bowl themselves.
Brian Rooney, the Law Center’s Director of Communications and Development, is also a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers Board of Directors.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, observed that faith and football seem to go hand in hand: “The Rooney family’s generous support of the Law Center’s mission through donations and Steelers’ items for auction is indicative of their patriotism and Christian faith, a faith foundation that obviously began with Art Rooney, Sr. — the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
The Arizona Cardinals are owned the Bidwell family. The Bidwells also have a strong Christian faith, and have been friends with the Rooney family literally since the founding of the NFL.
Kurt Warner, the quarterback of the Cardinals is known for starting every interview by thanking God. Troy Polamalu, the long-haired free safety for the Steelers said at Super Bowl media day, "I feel like faith is the foundation of everything I do on the field and off. It determines how you live your life when you love God." Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith said he relies on his faith and prayers to God, along with a men's ministry book, "The Sampson Syndrome, " as his 5-year-old son Elijah battles leukemia. "My prayers are thanking the Lord for every minute I get to raise him, " Smith said. Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said, "First and foremost, I want people to know who I am and what the most important thing is in my life, my relationship with Jesus Christ. Football is what we do; faith is who we are all the time."
Brian Rooney commented, “My grandfather, Art Rooney, went to church service everyday — no matter where he was or how important any single game may be. He was always interacting with the players, coaches, and everyone else in the organization. His faith was infectious and still sets the tone for the team today. Before every game we have a family Mass. In fact, when I get to Tampa on Saturday, the first place I will be is the Saturday family Mass before the big game.”
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.
4. Don't build without expert help. I've never led a building program before but I was fortunate enough to get some experts around me who walked me through the process. From the outset, my desire was to build a team of experts that would work together to complete this God-given dream. Below are the experts I would recommend that you speak with IN THIS ORDER of the building process.
Dream it phase. In this phase you get your church leadership together and begin to dream about what your new facility would look like. You put proposal requests together from each ministry team and start writing down the vision/plan. I would highly recommend speaking with Greg Marquart of Capstone Management. Greg will not only walk you through the facility planning, but also the budgeting process and financial proposal to request funding, as well. Having Greg come in and help us was one of the best decisions we made in the whole process. His expertise as an executive pastor and former bank president was invaluable. In fact, Greg will walk you through each of the phases below until completion.
Draw it phase.This is when you hire an architect to help draw the dream. Don't hire the architect first. As a church, you stay in the driver seat and tell the architect what you want. Architects are notorious for telling others what to build and they tend to spare no expense. When it comes to building you get to choose one of three options - cost, quality and square footage. You can choose two, but not three. Most churches go with cost and square footage. We say, "it has to be "X" square footage and we can only afford "X" amount of dollars. Most architects are all about quality. That's why most work on a percentage of the total cost of the project. The average architect costs 7% of the total project cost. The more expensive the building, the higher fee they charge. They also want to design something that looks good on the front cover of a trade magazine. Stay in the driver seat and remind the architect that "this is what we want". We were fortunate enough to work with Michael Campbell . Michael is a phenomenal architect who understands both traditional and contemporary church facilities and design. He's been a gem to work with.
Fund it phase. Once you know what the dream is and what it's going to look like, then you hire a resource development firm to help you raise the faith and finances to fund the project. I made a mistake by hiring a fund raiser too early. But hey, we all live and learn. Typically, most fund raisers have no idea what you need to build, how the building needs to function, etc. They just know how to raise money to underwrite the God-given dream. We worked with Jack Strom of Strom Ministry Concepts. Jack has become a trusted friend and I would highly recommend him to all who need someone to come alongside them and help them fund a God-given vision.
Build it phase. This is the last phase of the process which requires perhaps the most critical decision of all - the firm that's going to oversee the construction of the new facility. We researched dozens of local construction firms and narrowed our interview process to the top three candidates. Greg Marquart helped us choose our local contractor, Spread Eagle Realty. Spread Eagle has been great to work with and they are giving us a quality built building.
Always remember, when it comes to building a building, it will always cost more than you think and take longer than you imagined. Word to the wise.
3. Don't build without flexibility. Another unwise decision is to build each space in the building for only one purpose. One-dimensional space designs kills flexibility and functionality. Our goal was that each space in the new building could have 3 or 4 different uses.
For example, our lobby and hallway can be used Sunday mornings to get people from one place in the building to the next; on Sunday afternoons it can be used for membership classes that hold up to 150 people; and it can also be used as a place for volunteers during the week to complete administrative tasks and finally, we can hold community functions/dinners as outreaches. When designing your spaces, always think functionality and flexibility.
2. Don't build too big. The first step that most churches take when they begin to outgrow their present facilities is to go to multiple services. That's a wise choice from a stewardship perspective (making the most out of what you have) and it gives people in the community more options when deciding on whether or not to attend your church.
However, when it comes to building a building, it's a huge mistake to build so big that you can house everyone in one service and at one time. You will unintentionally remove the flexibility you have for multiple service options and you also run the risk of overextending the budget with a larger mortgage. So, build smaller with the intent for multiple services and maximize ministry dollars with a lower mortgage.
This week we are moving our offices to the new facility. Please pray that we will obtain the necessary certificate of occupancy permits today. We are up to our eyeballs in boxes here in the office. I love moving because it requires everyone to change. Change is good - especially when handled correctly.
I recently read Bob Whitesel's book, "Growth By Accident, Death By Planning." It's a basic guide on how not to kill a growing congregation. Bob spends an entire chapter on pitfalls to avoid when moving into a new facility. I thought I would share them with you this week and then give my own comments.
1. Don't build too soon.Most portable churches grow weary of the grueling setup/tear down routine and therefore look to buy land/build a building/renovate an exisitng building within the first couple of years of getting the church off the ground. We know all about this at PCC. We've been at this portable church thing for over 6 years. We made a decision to take our time and keep our focus on people, not buildings or programs. Yeah the portable system requires a lot of blood, sweat and tear equity. But in the long run it has helped us develop ministry, volunteers and a sense of community.
Yesterday my little girl turned 6 years old. Unbelievable. I'm so proud of her and who she is becoming as a young girl with a heart for God and people.
We had a little daughter/daddy date on Saturday morning where we went to breakfast together at Perkins. She is so full of life and love.
Tonight she is going to see her new favorite movie, Hotel for Dogs, and then staying over at a friend's house.
As you know, the past two months we have had to cancel 8 different services at PCC due to the bad weather. While many of our families have been faithful to send in their tithe via the mail or our online giving, unfortunately we have significantly fallen behind in our giving.
Of course, this comes at the most challenging financial time in our church history as we are now paying nearly the full mortgage on our new facility as well as the fees on our rented facilities.
I'm reminded that God can help us overcome any challenge if we are faithful to put our trust and hope in him. I owe it to you as your pastor to let you know the reality of our financial situation, as well as encourage you (and myself) to continue to put our trust in God. He is the One that will supply all our needs.
This weekend I feel God has led me to do something for many in our church that are hurting financially. You don't want to miss this weekend. As I am submitting to God's leading, I know He will use this weekend to bring breakthrough for many of those in our church.
PS - the latest weather report for this weekend is clear skies and sunshine!!!
Just wanted to give all the pastors who read this blog a heads up on a course that I will be teaching called Missional Ministry: Growing Healthy Churches in the 21st Century.
This is a practical class that will provide insight on how to build a healthy and effective church in today's contemporary culture. For more information, check out the course syllabus here.
The class will be held at Valley Forge Christian College this February 23-27. You can sign up for the class through the AGTS Continuing Ed office here.
This will be a great time to spend the week together and "talk shop" and have a lot of fun in the meantime. Hope you can make it and that you will also tell your friends.
3. Bad weather slows momentum, but doesn't kill it.
Momentum is a leaders best friend. You can do just about anything once you have momentum. Why? Because momentum creates excitement and excitement creates anticipation. Momentum plus excitement plus anticipation equals growth.
However, when you have to cancel multiple services like we have had to do recently, it certainly slows momentum for your church. You would be surprised how quickly people get out of the habit of going to church when you cancel services. Plus, the average regular church attender in America only goes to church twice a month. So, if you cancel services multiple times within a matter of weeks it's easy for people to be out of church for two months without blinking an eye. This all adds up to a momentum slower, but not a momentum killer.
The ultimate momentum killer is a sin. When you have "sin in the camp" it will literally destroy the stability and unity of your church family regardless of whether you have snow or sunshine.
I thank God for the unity we have at PCC and know that it will bring us through a challenging time as a church family.
Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone.
It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.
History is your story.
The Scripture tells us, "Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one." And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
Now today we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African American president of the United States.
We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where a son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.
Give to our new president, Barack Obama,
the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity,
the compassion to lead us with generosity.
Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders. Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans--united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.
When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you--forgive us.
When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone--forgive us.
When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve--forgive us.
And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes—even when we differ.
Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all.
May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet.
And may we never forget that one day, all nations--and all people--will stand accountable before you.
We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua, 'Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus—who taught us to pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
ANN ARBOR, MI — This Super Bowl week has not only focused on the physical prowess of the playmakers, but has also highlighted the Christian faith that is the bedrock of not only the team owners, but also many of the players.
